Cricinfo - Blogs - Long Stop - Dravid's dilemma

Dravid would worry about these things even if he were playing a casual game in his backyard with his son Samit. That is the kind of person he is. There has to be an intellectual solution to the problem - he cannot, like, Sourav Ganguly trust his eye and his natural game to see him through. Ganguly came out of a bad phase by becoming more Ganguly-like, putting his faith in his strengths on the off side. Dravid has made so many tiny changes to his game over the years, working each out beforehand in his mind, that there is no single Dravid-like batsmanship.

It is an existential dilemma: which Dravid should he choose to throw all his energies into at this stage? The debutant who was considered not good enough for the one-day game? The fluent striker who tended to hit straight to the fielder in his early series? The batsman who clinically took Allan Donald apart in South Africa? The player who finished with the most runs in a World Cup? Around the turn of the century, Dravid achieved the great synthesis, becoming an all-round batsman indispensable in either form of the game. Now he is no longer required for the shorter version. And there haven’t been enough runs in Tests to make him an automatic choice.

Dravid has two Ranji Trophy games before the first Test on December 11. Karnataka play Andhra on November 16 and Baroda a week later. Dravid’s confidence right now is so low that he has virtually cut out shots square of the wicket. When you see him square-cut the fast bowler to the boundary you will know that he has come to terms with the devils in his mind.

In Bangalore and in Mohali he batted long enough for his 51 and 39 to indicate the problem was not in his feet but in his head. Sunil Gavaskar once went through a series in Australia getting caught behind in identical fashion. It has happened to Greg Chappell, and if you go back, even the great Wally Hammond has struggled. But these have usually lasted one series. Dravid’s struggle has gone on for a couple of seasons now, and he has been treated with kid gloves in that period.

This is partly because either the rest of the batting has been in the same boat (as in Sri Lanka) or it has been doing exceptionally well (as in the recent series against Australia). The pressure on Dravid therefore has been mainly from himself. Ganguly, who made his Test debut alongside him in 1996, has retired in style. Karnataka mate Anil Kumble was carried off the field in his last Test. Dravid would like to go out in triumph, but self-doubt is a cancer that can eat through a sportsman’s mind.

Should he bargain with the selectors and promise to leave at the end of the England series in return for a guaranteed place in the team to sort himself out? That would be un-Dravidlike. And there are two important away series to follow. In Pakistan (or the UAE, if that falls through, for security reasons) and then in New Zealand. No Indian has a better record outside the country. Dravid is most at home away from home.

well he'll get back to form i am confident
lets encourage him guys
come on
he needs confidence boosting
not all this

Being a great fan of Dravid, its sad to see him struggle for such a long period. I am also hoping that he is able to walk away with dignity... he deserves it... but having seen him in the past few series he seems to be unable to even hit the ball to the boundary... something is wrong big time ever since he quit captaincy... he is mentally unable to get out of it... hoping and praying for a change of fortune against England... I hope to see him at least till the NZ series... He is also on the verge of becoming the highest catcher in Test history...

It would be very sad if a great player like Rahul Dravid(who was Mr. Consistent) is dropped due to short of runs. Hence it would be ideal to retire on his own terms at the end of England series by piling up some huge scores.

As we do not have a home series till Nov 2009(against SL), the best thing is to retire in front of the home crowd on a high. Not to forget the world record for most number of catches!

The real value of such a player would be felt when we miss him in overseas tours like the one in NZ.

I believe Rahul has something going on behind in his mind bcoz of which he is loosing his concentration.He lost his co-players like Ganguly,Kumble.May be that may be one of the reasons.Why did he get down from captaincy after Emgland series?Why that other young players are playing the same game so enthusiastically under Dhoni and not under Dravid in England series and same under Kumble captaincy?It was almost the same set of players...............He was a person in cricket who never was out of form more than 2 games/innings nor had any injuries bcoz of which he was out of team in regular intervals.But why is he going down now?
I believe if anyone gets mentally down must be brought up by some one else we will loose this batting style and he is required in the middle order in every form of the game.Patience n basics r his strengths.But now u don't find in him.Wall has been broken mentally.Young players need to learn a lot from him.He should be back n he should strengthen himself mentally

Its high time Dravid retires with dignity -accepted he has been Indias best batsman overseas, but that form has deserted him well and truly.

Most importantly, he doesnt have age on his side. And as has been proved by Dhoni and his band of merry men, absolutely nobody is indispensible.

Dravid, who once along with Chappell and More preached the concept of performance being the las word, should prcatice it now and quit

Every one tells the legends when to retire. Woha!!! we have more knowledge about your game than you. Let the poor guy decide his future by himself. We all know the kind of thorough gentleman Dravid is. Let us not be vulturing on him.

It is said that sound batsman recover form early than the touch players, but sadly that has not been the case with Dravid. I feel that, he is planning his innings beforehand, as such being totally defensive or blatantly aggressive playing too many or to few shots. There is the Oval crawl, and then there is Mohali.
Perhaps, just playing each ball on its merit holds the key. Lets see. Thinking is his strength, and he is surely thinking now!

Well said.I think,it's more of mental block rather than bowlers finding technical flaws.The more smart and wise thing is to leave everything behind and look forward.It's ok to introspect but not to get obsessed with bad patches in the season and am sure dravid would be thinking on the same line.It will also be interesting to see how dhoni uses him in batting positions in the forthcoming series which would also be critical.So far Dravid at no.3 slot wouldn't make much of fuss.Rest,his bat will do the talking for sure.Even England an average series,am sure pakistan and newzealand would get him through as overseas,there is a differenct touch to dravid's approach.But,only time will tell whether he can survive till then keeping in mind the present state of Indian cricket.

Rahul Dravid is a great player. He did Exceptionally well in ODI & also in TEST. But his current form is not like dravid the wall form as we all know. I think after England series(in eng last year) when he took off his captaincy, he cant bat well after that series . But I am sure that he can get back his form in england series(starting form 11 december). I am sure that there might be some technical or some mental problem. I am also a cricketer & I can understand what he is feeling now. So I would like to request the selectors that please have faith in him don't loose hope. I am a great fan of him. He is my role model in my cricket life. And for rahul dravid do best in Ranji trophy,get back youre confidence and score as many runs as possible. We Indians needs you in cricket, you are the back bone of Indian cricket.So plz plz plz do youre best in england series. Best of luck for Rnaji and for the england series.

India have not managed to win a test in New Zealand in the past decade.For India to perform we need THE WALL to stand TALL on those green pasteurs.Hopefuuly Dravid will play like he has for the better part of his career and retire on a high as dada did

I agree with Kris Srikanth,he is one innings away form regaining his form.Like the other two greats who retired,he too should be allowed to pick the time when he retires.The transsition form the past to the future has to be smooth or else the Indian team like Australia will suffer the same fate.The wealth of experience and knowledge that a Dravid has,the dignity with which he has carried himself,should be used wisely.

My two cents? If it ain't broke - don't fix it. Right now, since the rest of the team is doing well, we are simply trying to find something to nag about in the Indian team. It is very rare to find all players firing at 100% at all times. The team is winning, has confidence and has shown a rare attitude of self-belief without leaning into the swamp of arrogance. This is a winning combination. What Dravid might be failing to do with the bat - he is definitely not failing with his presence in the team. A player of his callibre brings alot of experience, support and reliance for the younger members. And there is no doubt that he is working hard - so no one in the team can fault him for that. If you try to switch or fiddle with his positions now - it will also make the younger players insecure about their positions as a team. The whole point of playing in a team is that you support each other on that bad day to get a winning result. Dravid did not cause the team to lose in the last series.

It has been a long wait and painfully, with each series, the list of questions thrown at him has gotten longer. Sad how we have treated a legend like him. But I am sure he asks more questions of him than the rest do and that's been his biggest problem. I hope he finds his answers soon and make s us proud like ever again. I am not sure of one MS Dhoni.

You are spot on in your assessment of Dravid's problems. When he dropped Katich off Ishant on Day 3, oh my, how many times must he have replayed his motion physically, wondering how he missed it! This meticulous made him arguably the most technically sound batsman in India's lineup since the mid 90s or so but it's now preventing him from cutting loose and hitting himself out of trouble. Bafflingly, he has batted like his old self in rather adverse conditions from time to time - in Perth this year and then in the last innings of the third Test of the Lanka series. Perhaps therein lies the key for him: if he doesn't let the match situation and his woeful form bother him so much and just takes it ball-by-ball at the crease, he might fare better. Whatever it is, he has to find the answer quickly because regardless of Srikkanth's comforting words, he is living on borrowed time at the moment.

Suresh, please leave weel enough alone. Dravid is nowhere near finished yet. He is a genuinely great player going through a bad patch. He will work it out. The last thing he or Indian Cricket (including the fans) need is armchair experts watching over his shoulder speculating when he will retire. I think he has atleast 3-4 years of test cricket left in him yet, because of his general fitness, freedom from injuries and mental stregth. Infact I am willing to bet Dravid and Laxman will outlast Sachin, simply because unlike the latter you don't wince and start to pray every time Dravid or Laxman fall over while fielding. Sachin's a more complete batsman but his fitness is extraordinarily poor and has been his achilles heel since 2001. Dravid does not have those issues. Given time, Dravid will be back to his reliable self and scoring away.

I am a great fan of Dravid, he is having bad time. but i am sure he just need one good match to get his confidence back, and he need some encouragement.

The Wall has just started to develop some cracks, but it will still hold for sometime. So guys, please stop writing obituaries and let him continue. Only Dravid can decide what is good for himself and the team. Let us not put extra pressure on him by continuously speaking about his retirement. Let us remember that we need somebody to shepherd and guide the new generation. Only experienced cricketers like Sachin and Dravid can guide the youngsters to build a better tomorrow. Once we find suitable replacements, the Wall will leave cricket once and for all leaving behind a great legacy to be fulfilled. Untill then, please wait. Dravid will shine again.

I think the problem is not so much his form as much as Rahul Dravid kills all momentum built by the team..

Dravid not getting runs in a team where everyone else is is palatable.. But Rahul Dravid scratching around after we are a 100/1 and the opposition on the defensive, not taking the singles and rotating strike.. basically, opening the door for the opposition when we should be slamming it shut, that is the worry.

And his slip catching has gone down a few notches too.

Cheers,

I am a fan of Dravid's batting. But as others mention nobody is pressuring him to leave. But right now he is the weakest link and highly visible. Contrary to people's belief Dravid and Ganguly were given enough chances to get back to form. And remember they are playing for the country and it's not a desk job.

i really hope rahul will make an awesome comeback in england series....i am his biggest fan and i think he deserves more respect than ppl give him

I always hear that let the legends decide when they want to retire. I absolutely NOT agree with this. Legend has right to decide as long as they are in playing 11 on their merit. As soon as they are selected based on their past performances then they are at mercy of selectors and people DO have right to comment on their retirement time. I believe Dravid should make up his mind as England being his last series and play some masterful innings and retire in style.

havin watched dravid bat in his peak, i definitely feel there is sumthin wrong mentally, as in there is sumthin at the back of his mind dats causin all the trouble.. u dont c him droppin catches or playin n slashin outside wide outside off stump!!

v saw him fail in the Irani Cup n later in the Autralian series.. as i said i have seen him in his peak, the thing i c missin in his battin which he did unbelievable well was rotate strike. if he could jus rotate strike on a regular basis, i am sure he will be baq!! thats for his technical side. as far as mental side of his game is concerned, he has to get over the retirements of his fellow cricketers n as Suresh Menon has pointed out, he is askin more qs than answerin them!! hez got to stop questionin himself n his technique!! after all, after playin 12yrs of International cricket n scorin in heeps, u dont question urself!! if he'z under pressure coz of the youngsters, then he should realise 1 thing, there is no replacement for him!!

it seems he left his capatancy with his all luck also to dhoni. it is very unfortunate. anyway we all waiting for big score in upcoming seris.we hope his luck comes back & he proves that he is now also mr.dependable , mr consistant or the WALL. WE WISH HIM ALL THE BEST. WE LOVE U DRAVID.

Suresh, regarding your suggestion to retire Dravid, I would request you to consider writing an article about whether the spectators in any sport have any right to influence the careers of sportsmen, or to expect such a thing. As far I know all sportsmen, at least the truly committed, play sport primarily, not to entertain people, but because they love the sport. Of course most make a living out of it, which one may argue is due to the paying public. But most sportsmen could also make a living elsewhere just as well.
My argument is, since Dravid or anyone for that matter is where he is, is because it was his desire to be there, it was him who faced all the best bowlers, scored loads of runs, toiled hard, gave it his everything.
I wonder how would you take it Suresh, if I suggested to you, or anyone for that matter, that you should retire, because I don't like it anymore. Why should sportsmen be treated differently?!

I have immense faith in his capabilities and am confident he will come out of his bad form in style. I am dying to see The Class he was, The Great Wall.

"Should he bargain with the selectors and promise to leave at the end of the England series in return for a guaranteed place in the team to sort himself out"
Seriously we lack respect for senior cricketers!

Class is permanent and Form is temporary. I am certain Dravid will be back among the runs during the India England Series. This happens to most Batsmen the world over. Even the venerable Sachin Tendulkar did go through a rough phase in 2003 during the tour down under, but bounced back in style.It is just that Dravid's poor run has continued a little too long.But even during the recently concluded series, it is not that Dravid was a total failure. He did get decent starts in a couple of innings but failed to capitalize on the same. All he needs is just one big innings and his confidence will be back. The wall just can't crumble.

I was rahul's biggest fan but sorry he is useless now and letting the team down every innings and blocking the scoring rate and should be dropped with immediate effect.I hope he doesnt read this as i feel bad writing it but he is a major liabilty at present.Sorry Rahul

Dravid is technically the best Indian batsman but currently he is out of form and lacking in confidence. The best way to restore his confidence is to send him at #5. Laxman can bat at #3 and Tendulkar at #4. A good score at this position will help his confidence because at #5 he does not have as great a responsibility and is less under pressure. Moreover laxman is batting well and is used to #3 position. Hence it will be a Win-Win situation all round. Good Luck to a great Batsman.

I think Dravid's strengths are his game on the leg side. But these days we see he's missing out on simple legstump half volleys. All he needs to do is go out there and play a few shots, and it's amazing how often that solves the problem

Agreed introspection is Dravid's second nature, but I don't think he brings the same amount of intensity to every inconsequential match, as you seem to claim.
Besides, over the years, his game has eased out a bit - particularly from 2002 onwards, when he achieved the "great synthesis".
He is going through a protracted rough patch and batting at no.5 would best serve both his, Laxman's, and the team's interests

get over personal records guys..like highest catches..blah blah..(look how many he dropped in the series). Dravid will be remembered for his contribution to teams victories overseas. he should play as long as he contributes to the team not for records. he has had three very poor series i.e around 10 tests(actualy last 25) of scratching around.after failing for 2 series , the selectors gave him a lifeline for one more against australia..isn't that a fair run?? it would be utterly selfish for him to continue and hoping to get selected on previous glory like the last year. we banished ganguly in 2005/06 after poor series against pak which was harsh.Dravid deserves more respect so giving him 3 series is fine..but anything more sends a wrong message to the youngsters..Imagine people like cheteswar PUJARA scoring 3 Triple hundreds in three weeks and still not getting a call up..just because of dravid. he would be heart broken..
for the good of Indian cricket Dravid should leave.I am sorry

Selectors shouldn't think about New Zealand series and keep Dravid in the team. Because if he cant play on flat indian wickets rite now , how can you expect him to score double hundreds in New Zealand.. what a joke. In New Zealand catching is very important and in the present catching form he will drop at least 3 in each innings. but blood a youngster, he will for sure hold catches and anything he scores over 30 would be bonus. that itself is a far better contribution than dravids.The youngster will also get first hand experience in alien conditions. Hope the selectors are not short sighted.

Considering his form in which he has played for the last 26 tests he has played has showed how poor he is. Many people have said that he is just 1 innings away to be honest he has got a big support otherwise he wouldn't have been in the squad. His average is below 35 for the last one and half years. Out of his last 48 innings he has just scored 2 centuries that too one against Bangladesh and 6 fifties. He has scored less than 20 for 25 times. Not to forget his pathetic performances such as the innings at oval, melbourne, Sydeny, Adelaide, Kanpur and most recently the Australia series at home which his average is 17.14. If he is a genuine sports man he should have retired probably 6 months ago. I think he is still there because he wants to be a highest number of catchers. But if we look at his fielding in the recent series it would take at least 2 more series for him.

I think it is high time that bloggers and "experts" who know the game so well should start talking something positive than leaving no stone unturned whenever the opportunity presents itself to question players, especially the senior, experienced players. We all know by now that Dravid is going through a lean patch and I don't think anyone has to tell us that, just let the man do what he does best and leave him alone. If our press only stopped over-scrutinizing the players and let them play peacefully......but I know that will not happen, This is the first time I have ever posted a comment or a reply, and I did this because this continuous scrutiny is becoming too much.

Its easy not to see his value on sub continent pitches when everybody else goes slam bang and milks the opposition bowling.. but the wellingtons, the durbans, the headingleys show his real worth.. no offence meant, but i will prefer seeing him make 27 in Durban than seeing Sehwag make 300+ at Multan.. and anyway, i think unlike others, Dravid's farewell match should be on a chilly, windy, overseas pitch with ball darting around and Dravid standing tall at the end of the day.. like a WALL

Agreed that he is in a bad form and agreed that age is not on his side, but I don't think he should retire or even media shouldn't be exploiting this at all. One thing we know about Dravid is his service to Indian Cricket and being the best batsman in the country while playing away and also since Saurav has retired, he should be doing a smooth transition to the one replacing Saurav and share his experience with the new ones before leaving. All said and done, should he be playing in tests now? I don't think so. Why shouldn't he take off from a International series, play at domestic level. get his head straight and come back like Ganguly. No selector can ignore him if he makes a lot of runs at domestic circuit

@PRASHANT and SANTOSH
you both are right. we are over respecting our seniors. certainly dravid and tendulkar. Both of them scored big against bangladesh. if you not consider dravids scores against bangladesh his average drops to around 25 and strike rate around 30. he is only a liability to the team. Srikanth should say "Dravid is one innings away etc" what the heck??.Give youngsters a series at a time instead of Dravid. like Santosh says pujara should be given a chance. blood youngsters when they are in good form.Dravid is humiliating himself and the team by continuing and it also shows him in bad light like being selfish.I know it is harsh but I dont see any other reason why he is playing.

Unlike Ganguly & Kumble I feel Dravid still has a lot to offer. But he is in such a mire that it is hard to see where his next big innings is coming from. He gets into a mental rut and then finds it hard to get out of it. His problems started when he was asked to open in Australia. This was done supposedly to accomodate Yuvraj. That was a huge mistake by Kumble. He tried to change his approach as an opener. He could hardly get the ball off the square.Being the great batsman Dravid is, this inability to get out of a mental block is a major weakness. I think he has 2 years of good Cricket left in him. He will come good soon and prove his worth away from home. He needs to be persisted with and Srikanth is making the right noises. The fab four should go out in a phased manner and the likes of Rohit Sharma, Badrinath, Virat Kohli, Raina should be inducted.

I think Dravid should be given one more year to play. Just tell him it doesnt matter how many runs he makes but he will be around for one year and if he plays may be more. That will reduce the pressure on him. Anyway we will need one batsman taking Gangulys place to settle before one more batsman retires. It will be nice if the new batsman is in company of Dravid, Tendulkar and Laxman for a year.
If Ganguly was the captain who was responsible for bringing home certain overseas test victories it was Dravid who was responsible for majority of them. He has been the champion all along his career.
I hope Srikant gives him the confidence.

Dravid Should Bat at 5 VVS at 3 then dravid will once again start to prosper it could not be put any more simple than that. Oh an by the way being born in Madras I am devestated Badrinath isnt in the team. He should take gangulys place at 6.

i think dravid should have retired gracefully with dignity at the end of the australia series. he has failed miserably for the past 2 years and averaged less than 20 in the last 4 test series. he has been given more chances than anyone else performing so bad for so long as a specialist batsman. if it were laxman or tendulkar i am sure people would be calling for their heads. they are suggesting that tendulkar should retire even though he averaged over fifty in the last series. i think it is better that dravid make a deal with the selectors that he would retire at the end of the england series if he is selcted.

I am a very big fan of Jammy and its very sad to see people making judgements on his abililties after he has proven everything is his wonderful career. I definitely believe that none of us making comments or even writing this blogs are in the same category as Rahul is when it comes to batting techniques and mental concentration. He is the player who is India's most successful overseas player to date and I dont believe it is fair to point fingers at him. He is a rare (and I mean very rare) gentleman of the game. No sledging, no attitude and no arrogance are few of the qualities of the great man so let him decide on his future and just enjoy his batting while he is available for India. He is definitely due for a biggie nw........

I think a break will do good to Dravid. It certainly did for Ganguly. I think Dravid has another 3 years cricket left in him. He is the least injury prone of all the indian players, but at his current form he is a liability to the team. Calls for his retirement are far fetched. Only he can decide when he should retire. But the selectors should overlook him until he performs in domestic cricket and state his claim for a spot with his bat, not his past glory. I am sure he will bounce back in style like Saurav did before.

Well written article, suresh!. A lot of people posting on this forum have missed the forest for the trees.Dravid is India's greatest test batsman, but his time is long gone. I dont think even Tendulkar would have been given such a long rope. It all started in SA in Dec 2006 and it is now 2 yrs since he made a significant contribution to an Indian cause (the 93 in perth 07 being the exception). The worst part is that Dravid is in denial about his failings and that is fatal. More importantly, as homer (in this forum) points out, it is the way in which he makes his runs. He completely hands the momentum back to the opponents by his defensive methods.I am appalled at Srikkanth's statements that RD has his backing. According to me, RD should have been dropped before the nagpur test. Better late than never. c'mon, RD you are far too good a player to be dropped. Retire in grace !!

Failure is not a reason enough to RETIRE, get that straight, infact Failure is a reason only to come back strong with grit and determination, we don't have to go back so far to learn that, just look at Ganguly he did it against all odds.
Rahul has been an exceptional cricketing player, so give him support and just stop bashing him up for his dubious scores offlate, we are talking of a guy who has been the mainstay of Indian cricket team for more than 15 years.
Leave him alone, he will sort himself to come back strong, else not to worry, Rahul is too good a gentleman to call it if he thinks so.
Remember in a team game we need to regard the camaraderie of players who have been there and done that.

all said & done,everyone knows Dravid is out of form (rather out of touch) and we know he surely will bounce back but,what is bothering me is the involvement of the coach,Gary has to step in & talk to him, after all it is the job of the leader & the coach to help players.It is not enough only you talk in media or start putting a player down (at least the guy who has scored 10000 runs in both forms of the game). He is definitely not in usual confidence, the dropped catches onaussies suggests that (Dravid being one of the best slip fielder as we know). So let's give him another chance & ask Gary to get involved probably getting down the order would help him a bit.as far as my minor cricket knowledge goes,when you play a spinner you need to play as late as possible (I would be a fool to tell this to Rahul) but we could see he was either too early or too committed when he was playing aussie spinners.he was ill at ease,he will definitely bounce back, I hope he will see this message.

Dravid "THE WALL" will be THE WALL forever, no doubt about it. Its part of the game,today he is in that mode, but will definitely bouce back. Pls do not ADD EXTRA pressure and stress to OUR Dravid. Somewhere I very strongly feel all through his career he has not received that much support, back-up, and respect the other people got or getting now for their achievements whereas the achievements of Dravid is much much much HIGHER and everytime he did it badluck was a few more people who were also involved with him got the advantage instead of him for lot of other reasons than just pure cricket, we (The People, Media, board, people involved in cricket, etc., as a whole didnt support him much that time as we were suppose to be. Leave him alone, give him a chance,PLS give him just an extra bit of time,& just back him POSITIVELY, i am sure he will come over the form and about RETIREMENT,he is a "Thorough Gentleman" will take the right decision right time. Goodluck Jammie.dont worry. Take care

I dont understand why the media and fans are calling for seniors to retire. Dravid is a great player and I am sure he will bounce back like Ganguly did. If Dravid with such capabilties cannot last we will have generations every 4-5 years. People will soon be calling for Sehwags blood in next 2 years and once people are fulfilled with Dhoni , they might call for Rohit to take over. Lets be patient with Rahul Dravid who has done so consistently well, inspite of him dropping standards for such a long time, his Test average is still 53 ! Such is his class. Hayden is 37 and still playing, Lara was 38 when he retired , Shane warne was wrong side of 30 and so was Glen Mcgrath. Kumble revived his career after 2003 when he was 33.Ganguly had his best from 34-36 in Test cricket. Dravid is like old wine , we can be patient and expect some big innings cycle again !

It doesn't take long for a champion like Rahul to get back to form.It is just a matter of one good innings like Kris srikanth had mentioned, yet, whats noticeable is the hostility in his close surroundings. This is dangerous and to avert the situation, the onus is on Rahul to rise above the situation and get things in control for his own good. The game has a lot to offer him and vice-versa. May the determination of this man who has bailed India out in situations where the entire nation had lost hopes, emerge triumphant.

The people of the country "speculators" should hold on to their opinions about the retirement of cricketers for a while as they are just SPECULATORS anyways.

Good luck Rahul and Team India.

I think the contagious disease(wipe out seniors) greg chappell brought few years ago in India has spread over media too. Form is temporary but class is temporary. we young generation may have innovative ideas but we do need seniors to guide us. Techniques can be learned but you have to gain experience and the best way of gaining experience is playing with great legend like Dravid, Sachin and Laxman at the highest level of Cricket. So, for the sake of young generation fab3 should be retain in team for at least another 2-3 years.

for all his great acheivements, Dravid is frankly not a very gifted batsman. He will have to work much harder if he is to get out of this rut. The fact that he is not playing all forms of the game is also not helping him. He should play as many ranji, club level matches as possible and try to occupy the crease for long, this is his strength.
If he scores a big double hundred in the coming ranji matches, he should be good for another year atleast. The selectors might have to make some decisions. As most people dont follow Ranji cricket, their sympathies towards international cricketers are understandable but it needs to be kept in mind that there are players playing away from lime light, who also deserve a chance. Having said that, I think Dravid will probably do very well in the upcoming tours to Pakistan,Newzealand.

It's over for Dravid, time to step down or will be dropped, with the young talent we have no hopes for the wall, in the last 2 years with crap average, better he becomes a batting coach for some state level team...as we need another wall & he can be a good mentor...but no spot in Indian team for White Elephants..Sainara..

I feel sorry for Rahul. He got the worst job in the team and that is to carry the team through a crisis and he's done that time and again over the years. He deserves a longer rope than anyone else. Maybe a position swap with Laxman will help him regain the confidence again like it did back in 2001.

Perhaps the answer lies in the batting order. Dravid and Laxman should switch. Laxman is playing well, let him bat at 3, Sachin 4, Dravid 5
and Dhoni 6. Dravid can still walk into any batting lineup in the world, including Australia's. That is the true measure of quality and usefulness.

india, more than any other country, suffers from overindulgence of its top players.

i say drop dravid for a series. give him time outside the international stage to work out his issues. if he is not done, he will come back stronger and hungrier for it.

He is just one hundred away from coming back to form. There is no doubt about it. The lean patch has been long, but we must not forget the purple patch he has been in and how he has made the most of it, for himself as well as for the team.

If I were in the selection committee I would pick him for the England series. He is the backbone of the middle order. I'm sure a champion player like him will find his feet again after a prolonged bad form.

Guys, I am a Pakistani fan of Rahul Dravid. His gentlemanly style and batting with confidence made him the best cricketer for me. A few series of bad performance does not take anything away from his cricketing skills. Let him play without too much negetive comments, I am sure he will will do well. As for all this talk of retirement ,its absolute nonsense. Great players like him should retire on their own terms and not because somebody wants him to retire. He will remain a hero and a role model to many youngsters for his behaviour on and off the ground.

I suppose it's not even right to think of Dravid wanting to go out in a blaze or smething like that........... He has got a lot of cricket left in him. And he is fit.

The demons might be in his mind & as you have said sometiems being too much of a perfectionist can backfire..... Now all that Rahul has got to do is trust his instincts and tell himself that he doesn't need to prove anything to anyone and that he can get back to contructing monuments once more.

The very fact that people talk about 'an away series around the corner' itself means still how much they turn to him when India travel...... Greatness is an oft misused word. But Rahul Dravid is not just good. He is "great" in the true sense of the word. It would also help Dravid if this constant crap talk about the seniors stop. It's silly to say Dravid is only a hard worker and not naturally talented. Talent lies in performance not style... And how many have done better than Dravid in Indian Cricketing history ?

Dravid the legend is out of form for more than 2 yrs. We can not afford to carry an out of form batsman, however great he might be, for more than 2 yrs. His problem his mental. He needs rest for a couple of months from international cricket. Let him recharge his batteries. Let him play a few domestic matches. May be by that time he will be able to get rid of his mental stigma. If he can't he should retire gracefully.

Just like Dhoni skipped the SL tests. Rahul should also say that I,m taking 2-3 months off and will come back for the Pakistan series or NZ series.

With every failed innings, he's putting more pressure on himself. He's not rotating the strike enough early in his innnings and giving the bowler a chance to work on him n allow the fielding captain to set attacking fields. He has got to take some singles, see runs on the board beside his name, and that confidence will get him to be the fluent strokemaker he's capable of being.

i vaguely remember a couple of the same bloggers who were screaming for gangulis head when he was going thru a lean patch.they anyway thought vvs was there on sufferance as if they did not deserve a better deal.its one thing dada is man of tremendous mental strength.vvs anyway is all class who just needed a chairman of selectors who could see beyond stats.rahul.i am hazarding a guess has fallen victim to his own misdeeds under chappel.how could you trust his so called philosophical temperament and wisdom.he was such a rank opportunist and a flunkey of that dirty aussie who could make him go against his colleagues.how can we grant him such leeway when he never did it to others.all his past guilt catching up with him now and tormenting his game when he has struck a bad patch

If the Indian selectors had any sense, they would drop Dravid and ask Ganguly to continue through teh England and Pakistan series, so that two successors could be groomed. It's rather silly that a stalwart 'retires' when he is at the top of his game, and another carries on in the team despite a two-year funk.

Remember that Dravid still needs 3 catches to complete the world record (overtaking Mark Waugh). We must let him get that, as no Indian has ever held that record.

After that, if his form has not improved, he should retire.

He Should Retire Immediately.

He Has Failed Miserably in Last 2 Years , Averages less than 30 , Made us Lose the Series in SA in 2006, was a disaster in Australia , Sri Lanka and Also Home Series against Pak , SA & Australia. Has been given too many chances, Retire Dravid befiore you are kicked out. If he does not retire he will Prove he is shameless

Rahul Draavid has been trying to overdo things, like getting on the front foot early, and reaching out for ball he usually leaves. This i believe is a mental thing and a Great batsmen like him would rectify it and we can see amongst runs very soon.

Indian team already saw two retirements in the form of Kumble and Ganguly and I think the other two greats (Tendulkar and Dravid) should continue till we find stable replacements for kumble n ganguly. We need tendulkar and dravid in the forthcoming series, specially in NZ.

U R dead right, Mr. Sanjay. When people go haha over Ganguly for his overseas victories such as Headingly, Adelaide, Rawalpindi etc, and also over Jamaica, People forget the most crucial runs came from that of Dravid. He was standing like a pillar at one end, refusing to get bogged down or give up. You have to speak to opposition captains to see howmuch they hold him in respect and analyse him in team meetings. For me there is no cricket after Dravid, if and when that time comes.

Let me get this- Ganguly is forced to retire despite the mountain of runs he scored since December 2006 in every series except the one in Lanka, but Mr.Dravid can play on as long as he likes despite not doing anything except against Bangladesh for over 2 years now. Hypocrisy at its worst- Dravid is not the same player he was in 2000-2005 and so must go. Period. 3 years is long enough, he does not own his position in the Indian test team and cannot play until he is 40.

After the world cup in '07 he hasn't been the same man/cricketer. Whatever happened in the carribean is still a weight on his shoulders - a burden that is weighing him down. He hardly smiles, and his body language poor giving the impression he isn't enjoying the game as he used to, thereby attracting negative energy from all around. He needs to forget that phase and move on - no one asked him to step down from being a captain. He did it on his own to focus on his batting and he needs to do that. It's a game at the end of the day and it's a game he has enjoyed all his life - he made a profession out of it which he must give up if he has stopped enjoying. He is a technically correct batsman, so the flaw is in his head more than in his game. He is not in the one day game because the selectors have gone for youth, so he might as well accept it and enjoy the 5 day game in which he has excelled for a decade & more. Rahul Dravid needs to find himself & no one can help him but himself

I am in complete agreement. The looking-inward, the highest personal standards etc have made Dravid what he is. The self-doubt & anxiety are all part of the same person. I do not know how Dravid will come out of this, but if he does not come out - I think we can confidently say that it would not be because he didn't try, was pre-occupied with other things, or sat on his laurels.

Rahul Dravid is more than a cricketer to this cricket-crazy nation of ours. He is a benchmark of conduct, of professionalism, & a role-model exemplifying what attitudes you need to bring to your job - be it stroking the ball through cover, or balancing corporate accounts.

Kapil's 400 wickets are more than a record - what was more important that it made a nation believe that it can bowl fast. I think Dravid's legacy, though, will be wider than just cricket. Being Rahul Dravid will mean that you work hard & invest in continuous self-improvement, & put the group's interest before your personal ones.

RahulDravid is a great player..each and every legends had their bad phase..now for him.rahul will recover and bounce back in england series..my wishes

Dravid is better than tendulkar in the test arena and needs some time to recover. He is the best test batsmen that India has seen and is one of the best in the World. I idolise him and want him to come back with a big big bang and shut everyones mouth once in for all

I HOPE he will play for another 2years for india&retire proudly.

i'm sure "The Wall" will bounce back with a spectacular innings , its just part of a sportsman life, everyone faces these problems, it wont be long before he silences his critics

i belive that injustice has been done to dravid by dropping him from oneday international cricket. those who are playing both test and oneday are doing well.those only play test only do very badly with the exception of luxman. i believe that luxman will do more in test if he is picked up for oneday international as well.

i also have reasons to believe that dravid and sachin are victims of bad umpiring that the others because sachin had more outs in 90's recently and dravid was given outs in the early of his innings.
in oneday, dravid did extremley well and he promoted the others ahead of him and allocated less overs/balls and lost his wicket when he attempted to score faster when he was the captain.
my feelings is that dravid should play both games or should not play both.cricketers should note that dravid score 10,000 runs in shortet period than any other cricketers in the world in both types of cricket and this is still a record. please look at the record.dravid should retire i

dravid scored 10,000 runs in the shortest perid than any one in the world in test and oneday cricket. please check the record book.cricketers who play both crickets are doing better than those play either test or one day except luxman. luxman and dravid should play both or should not play both.when captain, dravid promoted the others and came last to face few balls and got out attempting to score faster. he lost his place in oneday by his own action. dravid and sachin are victims of bad umpiring as well. dravid got bad decision in 90's and dravid got the same in the early inns as well in 90's. dradid should have 35' hundred and sachin should have naerly 50 id thed dont have bad decisiions sorry for both