Dilip Vengsarkar might be drawing flak for dropping Rahul Dravid, but former all-rounder Ravi Shastri supported the decision, saying the seniors need to be rested at regular intervals to extend their careers.
"The fact that Dravid has been dropped for two one-dayers does not mean the end of his one-day career. We would need his experience for the Australian tour. For the amount of cricket that is being played, we will need about 20 to 25 players who are fit all the time," Shastri said.
"One of them (the seniors) should be rested after six games on the trot if we need to preserve them for another two years as Test players," the National Cricket Academy chairman was quoted as saying by Gulf News.
Shastri also said that Sachin Tendulkar is a worthy contender for Test captaincy as he "commands tremendous respect" in the team.
"Tendulkar is the right choice. He is a certainty in the side and he commands tremendous respect from all the teammates," he said.
"He may not be a natural leader but, unlike when he previously led the country, he now has many experienced players around him," he said.
Shastri felt handing over the reins to ODI skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni will burden him, as the longer version of the game is more demanding.
"To be a wicketkeeper in a Test match, concentrating every ball over a period of five days is not easy. If he is given the responsibility of captaining the team as well, it will be a heavy burden on him."
On the long-pending appointment of a coach for the team, Shastri said the post had to be filled but having a foreigner at the helm is not necessary.