London, Jun 6 (PTI) The incredibly high number of matches in recent years forced the Indian team to “use” a lot of players across formats, said head coach Rahul Dravid on Tuesday.

On the eve of the World Test Championship final against Australia at the Oval, Dravid spoke about his experiences of coaching the Indian side and how his journey has been.

“We have got some experienced players, we’ve got a lot of younger players coming through as well over the course of last 18 months. We had to use a lot of players because of three different formats and amount of cricket India plays,” Dravid told Star Sports.

The former India captain added, “There are lot of players coming in and out of our system, it’s been really exciting and a great learning experience for me as well.

“Yeah it’s been great fun and I have enjoyed it and it’s a really great bunch of guys to work with and build some really good relationships with a lot of the players.

“It is really nice to be part of their journeys and very different people at different stages in their careers as well.

“In the course of these 18 months, I have learnt a lot as well about myself as a person and just about coaching as well, So, yeah something I thoroughly enjoyed.” India have been the most consistent side over the past two WTC cycles and also reached knockout phases of major white-ball tournaments over the last 10 years but a trophy has eluded them.

Dravid spoke on the efforts taken by the team to reach the final.

“It’s exciting for all the players to be playing this game again. I think it’s been two years of hard work which has led to this, the one match you got to play. Two years of cricket, includes lots of Test series, and things need to go your way.

“So lot of ups and downs through the course of the season and then to be able to get the opportunity to play this game, I think it’s certainly well-deserved and the boys have certainly earned it.”

Source: PTI News