Rajeev Shukla, who is set to become the vice-president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), on Monday said that president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah are working on improving the performance of the Indian side.

Shukla’s remarks came as India stumbled to an eight-wicket loss in the first Test of the four-match series against Australia.

“We are not happy, it was not a good score and we are really concerned. The BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah are concerned about it. Both are working on some plans through which the performance can be improved. They will obviously be in touch with team management. I am quite optimistic and hopeful that in the next Test match we will definitely do better,” Shukla told ANI.

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When asked whether former India batsman Rahul Dravid should be flown to Australia to guide the Indian batsmen, Shukla replied:

“Nobody will be flown to Australia, our performance in the first innings against the hosts was good. We even took the lead but in the second innings we collapsed, it happens sometimes. After that, all the corrective measures have been taken and I think our players are capable of improving the performance. They will definitely look at the wicket conditions in Melbourne and accordingly a composition of the squad will be worked up.”

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India and Australia will lock horns in the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, beginning December 26. Skipper Virat Kohli would not be there for the visitors for the remaining three Tests as he heads back home after being granted paternity leave by the BCCI.

“Australian tour has always been a challenging tour and if you go by the earlier performance. It was very difficult to face the Aussie bowlers. Now the Indian team is showing a very brave front and they have started playing and making good runs in Australia. Virat’s absence will be there but other players are also very competent and I think the team will definitely do very well,” Shukla signed off.

Source: InsideSport