Friday, March 30, 2007
Let Dravid Continue
In one’s eagerness to distance himself from the tragedy Indian cricket is going through, the average cricket enthusiast is on a mission to find fault with any one connected in some remote way with the game in India. The players must now be thinking about ways to get off the tiger’s back. Now it is the captain’s turn.
The catastrophe according to many was obviously the handiwork of the captain. Had been as alert and innovative as the ideal one who deserves India’s captaincy, this agony could have been avoided. Rahul Dravid many feel is not the aggressive personality who can inspire the players to greater heights and thus better results.
Let us look at Dravid’s performance as a captain. As a captain. He has a cool head on his shoulders and is not swept off his feet by adverse situations. Except for a few decisions regarding the toss- he may have his own reasons for such decisions- he has done well as a captain. You can’t blame a skipper for the omissions and commissions of the players which lead the team to trouble.
What I mean is that even in the midst of the present chaos, Dravid stands as a captain who has done enough to deserve more chances to prove his yet to be displayed levels of captaincy skills.
The cricket atmosphere is rife with rumors. So you don’t know which is likely to happen and which may not. But if the reports hinting at termination of Dravid’s tenure because of the team’s collective failure are true. I have only sympathy for the administrators who are swayed by petty whims and prejudices of the little men in the periphery of power in BCCI.
I don’t mean that Dravid is indispensable as a captain but much less is Tendulkar. Tendulkar who during his tenures did nothing to prove his leadership talent is inviting trouble at this stage of his career by opting to take over the reigns. He has enough to worry about his batting. He is in the twilight of his great career and only a conscious effort on his part will enable him to bow out in style. Otherwise he might be going the same route Kapil Dev took at the fag end of his career. People will be more critical about the little master’s continued occupation of the crease. To be on borrowed time is the greatest tragedy that can happen to one of the greatest luminaries of the game.
Sourav Ganguly left alone has been able to tinker with his batting and has some runs to show for that. Let him be comfortable there and squeeze out the last few runs of his bat.
What India needs now is a search for a new captaincy material which is knowledgeable, innovative and highly focused. At this moment you can’t look far beyond Dravid for these qualities. And a fresher with such budding skills will not find a more suitable person than Dravid to learn his lessons from.
