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'In terms of short-making ability against spin, I think this generation is incredible'
'To create a single in between the big shot is what a Mohammad Azharuddin or a VVS Laxman could do on slow turning tracks'
Former India captain Rahul Dravid says it is a misconception that the country's youngsters are bad players of spin and insisted they actually have incredible shot-making ability against the slow bowlers.
The India 'A' coach, who has just finished a long series against the Australia and South Africa 'A' teams, opines that Indian youngsters are good players of spin and can go a long way if they do a few nips and tucks.
"There were a couple of times in this series (A) that we got stuck; we were not able to rotate the strike and the pressure came on and you lose two or three wickets quickly. I don't think Indian players are bad players of spin," Dravid asserted.
"We are suddenly not bad players of spin, but, maybe, the high pressure cricket these boys are playing gets to them.
"Like T20 cricket, where the value of the single is not so much. So to create a single in between the big shot is what a Mohammad Azharuddin or a VVS Laxman could do on slow turning
tracks.
"In terms of short-making ability against spin, I think this generation is incredible. They step out and hit sixes against spinners; some of the creativity I see against spin is terrific.
"I think one of the areas where there is a bit of a concern for Indian cricket is that there is sometimes not a lot of balance; people are either defending or hitting big shots," Dravid was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
Ranagana Herath and Tharindu Kaushal also made life tough for Indian batsmen in the recently-concluded series, which India won 2-1.
India 'A' lost the two-match unofficial Test series against the visiting Australia 'A' team before taking revenge in the tri-series final against the same opposition.
The 'A' team then won the two-match unofficial Test series against South Africa 'A' to finish on a positive note.
Dravid says contrary to popular perception young cricketers are at ease with the long format.
"They (youngsters) are not struggling to play long-form cricket. There are a lot of very good long-form cricket players, like AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli, Steven Smith; they are tremendous T20 players and playing long-form cricket as they did in any generation.
"It would be unfair to say that they are unable to play long-form cricket. I think challenges change and the environment has changed a little bit."
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