Rahul Dravid's selection just doesn't make sense
I'm a huge fan of Rahul Dravid. Anyone who has talked cricket with me, and anyone who has followed this blog over the past 5.5 years, would have realized it.
Yet, I really believe it was totally stupid to get Dravid to dust off his blue gear. The very fact that he was named in the list of 30 probables for the ICC Champions Trophy obviously meant that he was always going to be in the final 15. On Sunday, he was picked for the tri-series in Sri Lanka and the Champions Trophy.
There are various reasons bandied around for his selection, including the inability of India's young batsmen to cope with short-pitched bowling at the T20 World Cup, Sehwag's absence, the need to get Dhoni to play his natural swashbuckling style, Dravid's ability to play the short ball, the fact that the Champions Trophy will be in South Africa (where bowlers get significantly more help), and that Dravid proved he still had his limited-over skills & exhibited them in the 2009 edition of the Indian Premier League.
There are many reasons why Dravid's selection makes no sense.
- If Dravid has been selected because the likes of Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir, etc. got found out against the short ball, what happens if he succeeds in Sri Lanka and flops in South Africa? Do the selectors recall Rohit Sharma? Even if Rohit hasn't shown any improvement in skills against short-pitched bowling?
- What happens if Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Gautam Gambhir, etc. show a marked improvement in handling quick bowling? Do the selectors give Rahul a vote of thanks for his guest appearance?
- What happens if Dravid fails in Sri Lanka and South Africa?
- What happens if Dravid succeeds in Sri Lanka and South Africa? Do the selectors keep picking him until he announces his retirement?
- What happens if Dravid fails in Sri Lanka but succeeds in South Africa? Given that the next World Cup is in the sub-continent, how would that do the Indian team any good?
- For all the talk about his performance in the 2009 IPL, he averaged 22.6 with a quite pathetic strike rate of 116.
- He hasn't played a single domestic one-day game since March 2008.
- He doesn't seem to have played in the Buchi Babu or the KSCA tournaments. So he's basically going into the two series without any sort of match practice.
- Even England, and let me re-emphasize that, ENGLAND, after so much talk around recalling Ramprakash, Trescothick, etc., didn't do something stupid!
An related rant, written nearly a decade ago - "Azhar's recall a retrograde step".
Labels: 2009 champions trophy, champions trophy, dravid, gambhir, raina, rohit sharma, selection, squad
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Cheers!Cricket
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By 
Mark B. (23 Aug 2009, 7:36:00 am)
That was not the right chance at this point of time. His place should have given to someone like Rohit Sharma or Kholi etc. Dravid days are over. He should concentrate on Test career rather then playing in one day for 80 balls getting some 30 runs. Sachin is different from Dravid. He still has power to attain many records. So he should play. Well lets see whether he is getting a chance within 11 or not???
By 
Altax (4 Sept 2009, 12:29:00 pm)
U know he is the wall of Indian cricket.U saw the match between india and Pakistan in recent 5o-50 world cup in South Africa. if he is out in between 20 overs. what is the situation ? Can we imagin ? How we lost to pakistan.
Work From Home
By Nagesh.MVS (6 Oct 2009, 4:37:00 pm)
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