I have been trying to write this ever since the Dear Wall stepped down from captaincy, but never really got around to pen my thoughts. But now I have to, given the fact that the selectors overlooked him for the next two ODI's. A lot have been said about this and I second the notion that Dravid should not have been dropped, but not for the reason widely cited, that is Dravid being one of the big three and has done a lot for India. Remember Steve Waugh, oh well, I know you are saying that is Australia and the standards are high there! I agree, but then that is not the reason why I think he should not have been dropped. On the contrary, I believe anyone not performing well should be given time off to prove in the domestic circuit, before they can play for India. It did certainly work well with Zaheer Khan and Irfan Pathan.
The very fact that Vengsarkar said Dravid was rested, rather than say he was dropped, annoyed me. He did not even have the chutzpah to say that Dravid was dropped. Anyway, I seriously believe Dravid deserved few more chances. I agree his performace against Aussies was dismal, but remember he did not fare very badly against England. And what did Sehwag do to merit his inclusion in the squad? Infact I remember how he was hustled back into the team for World Cup, even though he clearly did not have enough time to prove his worth. I think Dravid did the right thing by stepping down from the thorn(e), er....throne. People might have thought that the inscrutable wall had collapsed. But I think it was a mere dent in the colossal wall. A dent if not plugged at the proper time would have deteriorated the entire wall.
Now that he has been given more time than needed to perfect out the dent, the results are clear for everyone to see. He made a double ton to pull his state out of an abyss, as he has done for India innumerable number of times. I would like to question the inclusion of Sehwag. With zillion batsmen lined up, we should have scored over 350 comfortably, given the start from Sachin and Gambhir, in the second ODI at Mohali. And when India had batted out 30 overs I sent a text message to my friend saying, if at all India lose, it would be due to the absence of an additional bowler, specially, Murali Kartik, who bowled so well against Aus and in the first ODI against Pakistan. So would the selectors revert back to the winning combination of the first ODI or still persist with lacklustre Sehwag? Well, I will have to wait untill tomorrow morning to see. In the mean time, I am hoping Dravid will find a place in the fifth ODI. Well, I assume Dravid is an automatic choice for Tests. I am not expecting any surprises here, unless the selectors have the gall to 'rest' him.
I tried a lot not to include this part, but I couldn't resist doing so. I would like to point out that when Dravid was dropped, no effigies were burnt, no stones were pelted at any selector's houses. The whole affair was unruffled. He is not the man of the masses, like Sourav or Sachin. But am sure he has a loyal fan base, who do not give much ado about mass heroism. Hail Dravid ! Can't wait to see you back among the thick of things.
The very fact that Vengsarkar said Dravid was rested, rather than say he was dropped, annoyed me. He did not even have the chutzpah to say that Dravid was dropped. Anyway, I seriously believe Dravid deserved few more chances. I agree his performace against Aussies was dismal, but remember he did not fare very badly against England. And what did Sehwag do to merit his inclusion in the squad? Infact I remember how he was hustled back into the team for World Cup, even though he clearly did not have enough time to prove his worth. I think Dravid did the right thing by stepping down from the thorn(e), er....throne. People might have thought that the inscrutable wall had collapsed. But I think it was a mere dent in the colossal wall. A dent if not plugged at the proper time would have deteriorated the entire wall.
Now that he has been given more time than needed to perfect out the dent, the results are clear for everyone to see. He made a double ton to pull his state out of an abyss, as he has done for India innumerable number of times. I would like to question the inclusion of Sehwag. With zillion batsmen lined up, we should have scored over 350 comfortably, given the start from Sachin and Gambhir, in the second ODI at Mohali. And when India had batted out 30 overs I sent a text message to my friend saying, if at all India lose, it would be due to the absence of an additional bowler, specially, Murali Kartik, who bowled so well against Aus and in the first ODI against Pakistan. So would the selectors revert back to the winning combination of the first ODI or still persist with lacklustre Sehwag? Well, I will have to wait untill tomorrow morning to see. In the mean time, I am hoping Dravid will find a place in the fifth ODI. Well, I assume Dravid is an automatic choice for Tests. I am not expecting any surprises here, unless the selectors have the gall to 'rest' him.
I tried a lot not to include this part, but I couldn't resist doing so. I would like to point out that when Dravid was dropped, no effigies were burnt, no stones were pelted at any selector's houses. The whole affair was unruffled. He is not the man of the masses, like Sourav or Sachin. But am sure he has a loyal fan base, who do not give much ado about mass heroism. Hail Dravid ! Can't wait to see you back among the thick of things.
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