Vikram Rathour dismisses reports of Rahul Dravid’s health issues: “He’s absolutely fine boss, we can put some fitness test for him also”

Team India’s batting coach Vikram Rathour has dismissed media reports claiming that head coach Rahul Dravid is suffering from some health issues. He assured that the Indian legend, who recently turned 50, is absolutely fine and is with the team in Thiruvananthapuram for the third ODI against Sri Lanka.

On Friday, January 13, news reports claimed that Dravid had reportedly flown home to Bengaluru after falling ill. It was stated that he suffered some health issues during the second ODI between India and Sri Lanka in Kolkata but remained with the team. An image of the head coach onboard a flight in which he seemingly appeared ill also went viral on social media.

At a press conference ahead of the third ODI between India and Sri Lanka on Sunday, January 15, batting coach Rathour was asked for an update on Dravid’s health. He replied:

“He’s absolutely fine boss. I don’t know where that news came from. He’s absolutely fine.”

The former India opener went on to joke that the management is ready to conduct Dravid’s fitness test if the media requires one. Rathour quipped:

“You want him to take some few rounds running around, you want to see that? We can put some fitness test for him also. He’s here (in Thiruvananthapuram with the Indian team).

Dravid celebrated his 50th birthday on January 11. BCCI shared a video of his cake-cutting celebration on its official social media handles.

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“Being a World Cup year, there are a lot of areas we are still working on” - Vikram Rathour

Team India are 2-0 up in the three-match series against Sri Lanka. Although the final match in Thiruvananthapuram is a dead rubber, Rathour stated that they will continue to seek improvements in various departments, keeping the World Cup in mind. He commented:

“(Team changes) We really haven’t had any discussion in this regard. We have won the series, but there are still a lot of areas where we would like to get better. This being a World Cup year, there are a lot of areas we are still working on. This is again one more opportunity to do that against a decent team. We look forward to do that tomorrow as well."

Team India won the first ODI in Guwahati by 67 runs and the second in Kolkata by four wickets.