Call back Rahul Dravid for ODIs: Akram

NEW DELHI: Senior batsman Rahul Dravid should be called back to India's ODI team as he still has lot to offer to the country in the 50-over format, feels former Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram.

"Dravid still has a lot to offer in ODIs. I believe that Dravid should be brought back into the (one-day) team. In the sub-continent, the current batsmen can do well, but on the overseas tours, India need a solid and experienced batsman like Dravid," Akram said.

Akram also was not happy with the current bowling line-up of the Indian team.

When asked about his reported comments that some of the India players were "softies and lazy", the former left-arm pacer said, "I was not talking about the whole team. I was only talking about the bowlers."

"Look at Munaf Patel, (S) Sreesanth, Irfan Pathan and RP Singh. They all were very promising in the beginning. They had everything a bowler needs. Now you look at them. They have waned, for reasons beyond me," Akram said.

The cricketer-turned-commentator also feels that a packed international schedule is taking toll on the players of the Indian team.

"There is a series between these two teams every two months. It is very natural that the Indian players have lost interest in the contests. I am sure the same is the case with the Sri Lankan cricketers," he said.

"Indian players are in the habit of playing in front of more or less 60,000 people and now they are playing amidst almost empty stands.

"Obviously, their performance will get affected. They are a top team in both Tests and ODIs and only too much cricket is their undoing at the moment," he added.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/top-stories/Call-back-Dravid-to-Team-India-Akram/articleshow/6432846.cms#ixzz0xi49cuUQ

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Opinion: Send SOS to Dravid

With India's batting looking fragile and the bowling somewhat inept, the selectors need to think on their feet.

By Sruresh Menon

As I sit down to write this, there are 180 days, four hours, one minute and six seconds to go before the 50-over World Cup. The Indian team playing in the Tri-Series in Sri Lanka is neither as good as their No.2 world ranking suggests nor as bad as their batting collapses against New Zealand and Sri Lanka indicate.

The series started with a question mark over the bowling attack, but it is the batting that is causing nightmares now – not to the opposition but to the supporters of the team. The only consistent area has been the fielding where there are too many slow-moving, poorly-anticipating, badly-throwing players who just cannot be hidden anywhere.

In the recent round of one-day matches, what are the lessons for India? That their batting is dependant on the trio of Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir. That the bowling without Zaheer Khan lacks teeth. That inconsistency is the bane of the middle order. In short, we haven’t learnt anything new.

Should India beat New Zealand on Wednesday and go through to the final where suddenly everything comes together, they might even win the tournament. But in that case, the inherent weaknesses will be covered up. A defeat brings out the drawbacks into sharp focus; it is better to lose now and do some serious course-correction than to discover 180 days, four hours etc later that faith in some players was misplaced or that insistence on some strategies was foolish.

For, unlike in a Test match series or a tri-series or even a bi-lateral one, there is a finality about the World Cup. It is not a platform for experimentation. It is not a tournament to blood youngsters or to give players a chance because they didn’t get to play in some recent tournaments. Every slot must have a player who is best suited for it, the focus being on winning, not on creating a team for the future.

One of the first thoughts that selectors ought to be considering is whether they need to bolster the middle order with a tried and tested stalwart. Rahul Dravid, in short. There are no problems of fitness, commitment or awareness there. The middle order can play around him.

A decision will have to be made soon about the likes of Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, Virat Kohli in batting and Munaf Patel, Ashish Nehra and others in bowling. Are they primed for the main roles or as the supporting cast?

Dravid has responded to SOS calls before, and has been left high and dry thereafter, uncertain whether his was an ad hoc appointment or a middle-term one till the team was put back on its feet. As one of the handful of players with ten thousand runs in both forms of the game, he deserves better.

With six months (and a few hours) to go before the World Cup, this might seem like a panic-stricken reaction to a couple of bad days in the office in Sri Lanka. But if Dravid has to play, he needs to be given time to ease himself back into the slot from where he ruled for so many years. At any rate, we are still in the days of experimentation, and experiments can involve both future hopefuls and past certainties.

In fact, that will be an important aspect of the planning for the World Cup – how to ease into the team players returning to fitness after a break. Bowlers Sreeshanth, Zaheer, Harbhajan, for example. The certainties need to be handled with as much care as the border-line cases, and that is not something easily understood by those who are responsible for these things.

http://www.espnstar.com/cricket/international-cricket/news/detail/item488758/Opinion:-Send-SOS-to-Dravid/

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Top 5 Performances of Rahul Dravid

1)270 vs Pakistan, Rawalpindi 2004.

Series locked at 1-1 and the decider expected to be a tense, close fight. Pakistan dismissed for 224, but Sehwag dismissed first ball. Dravid joins makeshift opener Parthiv Patel the wicket-keeper. They survive a few anxious moments (Shoaib Akhtar with his tail up after all), and the first day ends with India 23-1. Next morning,Dravid's solidity calms things down and Patel begins to open up. Then, Patel is caught behind at 129 and Tendulkar too 1 run later. 130-3, match in the balance again. Laxman and Ganguly however get classy seventies, and Yuvraj an uncharacteristically slow forty, but it is Dravid who is the constant, who holds the whole show together. Landmark after landmark is crossed, and with the team score around 550, Dravid begins to go for quick runs. He is 8th out for 270 (over 12 hours at the crease, 495 balls, 34 fours, 1 six). India reaches 600 and comfortably wins by an innings with a day to spare.


2)233 and 72* vs Australia, Adelaide 2003.
Australia makes 556 and India is 85-4. In olden times, game over. But this is a new-age India led by Ganguly with Dravid as the jewel in his crown. And he shines like never before. First, with Laxman, reversing the famous Kolkata partnership of 2001, with Dravid taking the lead this time - they put on 303 (Laxman 148) in six hours. Then, with the wicket-keeper and the tail, who add 135 with him, till Dravid is last out for 233 (almost 10 hours of batting, 446 balls, 23 fours, 1 six). Australia collapse in the second innings, set India 230 to win. Then again, Dravid back at 48-1, anchors the innings and stays till the end with 72 (4 hours of batting, 170 balls, 7 fours). India wins by 4 wickets, and lead the Australians for the first time ever in their backyard.

3)180 vs Australia, Kolkata 2001.

In bad form, Dravid has lost his number 3 slot to Laxman, mid-match. In the second innings, India is following on 274 behind and now is 52-1 but it is Laxman who has gone out to bat. He is in great touch no doubt (as evidenced by his fluent 59 in India's first innings of 171) and it is a logically sound move, but it still hurts. Dravid watches in the dressing room as India lose Das and then Tendulkar cheaply (115-3) and then as Laxman and Ganguly flower for a while, till Ganguly is rattled by some 'mental disintegration" in the middle and then caught behind with India 232-4. Dravid walks out now (ironically in the same batting position Laxman had batted in the first innings) and joins the same man who has replaced him. The day ends at 245-4 (Laxman on a superb 109); most expect the match to be over the next day, Australia to continue their world-record winning streak of 16 Tests and thus win the series here itself. But the earth shifts on its axis. Next morning, Waugh's attacking field settings encourage a low-risk counter attack from the two, especially Laxman. By lunch, they add 122 more, Laxman on 171, Dravid 50. They both open up thereafter, feeding off each other by now. There are no mistakes (despite the knife edge possibility of a quick end to the match if either of them is dismissed) - they're both in a rarefied zone much to the frustration of McGrath, Gillespie, Kasprowicz and Warne.Dravid reacheshis 100 (off 205 balls) and shows more emotion than he ever has, or ever would. By tea - 115 more - Laxman 227, Dravid 106. They're tired but the enormity of what they're doing is keeping them going. Five other bowlers are tried by a frustrated Waugh, in vain. By close of play, 98 more are added - India are 589-4, Laxman 275*, Dravid 155*. They have batted all day! Laxman gets out for 281 next morning and Dravid is finally run out for 180 going for quick runs. India set Australia 384. Squeezing even more poetry out of reality, the Indians dismiss the bizarrely aggressive Australians for 212 giving India her most famous and landmark victory.

4)148 vs England, Leeds 2002.

Overcast conditions, green tinged wicket. Ganguly wins the toss, decides to bat - frowns from the experts, glint in the collective English eye. India 15-1; Sehwag departs after struggling to make 8 in half an hour. Rahul Dravid joins Sanjay Bangar. The ball darting around, swinging viciously. Matter of time. Knowing smiles. The bowlers enjoying the shape to the slips, ooh that arc. Batsmen leaving the ball alone. Hoggard, Caddick, Tudor, Flintoff - bouncing, tempting, attacking off-stump. Play and miss. Uneven bounce. Keeping low - Dravid digging it out. Bouncing viciously - Dravid fending it off. Calm and patience. Picking up singles and occasional boundaries through the many gaps. Field gradually getting less attacking, pitch slowly but surely settling down. The spinner Giles coming on. No change of approach. Suddenly panic from the English. India has passed 150. For just one wicket - in these conditions? They should be 5 down, at least! Where did we screw up - think the English. Here's the next ball - think Dravid and Bangar. Finally, at 185, Bangar nicks one. Tendulkar comes in, Flintoff is on. Swaying away from the line, fending him off. Oohs and aahs. Giles bowls leg stump line to keep runs down. Dravid sends Hoggard's ball to the legside rope. Everyone in the dressing room stands up to clap. Dravid (100 in 220 balls; 14 fours) raises his bat. At stumps, Day 1, India 236-2, Dravid 110. Mission accomplished. Things would get much easier thereafter - Tendulkar would get 193, Ganguly 128. India with 628 would win by an innings. But Dravid's 148, which tamed the first day's conditions and carried on, would get the MoM award.


5)81 and 68 vs West Indies, Kingston 2006.
In two out of the three Tests, West Indies had narrowly escaped with a draw. And now, in the last Test, India had won the toss, decided to bat (against conventional wisdom in these conditions) and was 3-2 as Dravid the captain walked out (he'd occupied no. 4 right through this series since Tendulkar was absent). During the walk to the middle, did any thoughts of a jinx go through his head? Or at 58-4? Or 78-5? Surely at 91-6? The captain fought back with his most trusted ally, so what if he was a bowler. Dravid and Kumble took the score to 184 before Kumble fell (45) and 13 runs later Dravid nicked one to the keeper (81 in five and a half hours). 3 runs later India was all out. West Indies collapsed from 42-1 to 103 all out (Harbhajan Singh 5-13 in 4.3 overs). Dravid walked out to bat again at 6-2 (groan). 49-3 (bang). 76-5 (creak). The captain did it all over again. Partnerships with the lower order, taking the score to 154 before being castled (68 in 166 balls; 12 fours). Kumble got into the act then (6-78) and India won by 46 runs. India's first series victory in West Indies after 35 years. The captain did it almost single-handedly with the bat - in fact, Dravid occupied the batting crease longer than the entire West Indian team in both innings combined.


HONOURABLE MENTION:

87 vs South Africa, Port Elizabeth 2001.


This was still the second match in a 3-test series when it took place. India 0-1 down, SA powered to 362 by Gibbs (196). India knocked out for 201 by Pollock (5-40). SA set India 395 to win in a day and half a session. India 0-1, Das gone, caught behind off Pollock. Dravid joins Deep Dasgupta (makeshift opener and wicket-keeper) and they survive 17 more tense overs before close of play (28-1). Next morning, they look the bowling attack consisting ofPollock, Hayward, Kallis, Ntini and Boje in the eye and begin grinding it down. At lunch, they are together. At tea, they still look secure. Dravid's dismissal at 171 (for 87; 241 balls; 12 fours) and Dasgupta's at 184 (for 63; 281 balls; 7 fours) is of little consequence. A crucial match has been saved the good, old-fashioned way - quite a rarity in the post-1990 era. Sadly, later the next match would be controversially deemed unofficial (due to the fracas between the Indians and Mike Denness - who had banned 3 Indian players for misbehaviour) and the series terminated here but the grit and sweat of Dravid and Dasgupta could not be forgotten.

CREDITS : MYSELF , H0LIDAY WILING AND CRICINF0

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my childhood and rahul dravid

well people know me as a big 3 fan here , sachin ,dada , dravid , but DRAVID has had a esp place in my heart , as there have been quite a few episodes in my life , which makes me emotinol when it cums to JAMMY ,
i was in class 4th at st peter,s college agra , it was 98 , our school had a function where rahul roy was invited a guest just to meet the children , i was doing my work in the class , i was called by my teacher to cum and join the boys , and leave the class but i dident wanted to attend the function , bcoz i had kind of fever , but i came school bcoz i had some work , my teacher called me again but i denied , one of my friend knew that i was a dravid fan , he came to the class and bluffed me and said to me bro rahul dravid has cum to attend the function , i came running out of my class , and went to attend the function , finaly i was out of my class , i was dam exited , but as soon as i reached there my teacher told me that its not rahul dravid but rahul roy who has cum as guest , i kicked the ground and went in tears , i infacted was so angry that i almost wanted to beat my friend who bluffed on about dravid being in the school , realy that was a day that i still laugh on remembering that incident , on other hand i hope to see and meet dravid in the future ,i cant forget waking in the morining at 4 and watching dravid bat in 98 tour of newzland where he scored 190 in one of his test , my father use to get amazed bcoz i never use to get so early even if i had home work ,to do ,going back not to far away i bunked my schools in 2003 australia tour just to see dravid and sachin bat , infact once i bunked my class , watching the match in the canteen , realy those days were exellent , it will stay in my heart for our , thanx to dravid , for giving me such fantastic memories , u rock jammy along with sachin ,dada , and ak u made my childhood esp miss u in the odi team , and luv u and respact u a lot

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Written by Shobhit http://www.orkut.com/Main#Profile?uid=47031649513506871

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Astrologer: best years of DRAVID are behind him

Rahul Dravid is a Sagittarius-Pisces combo. The Sun, which rules the soul, and Mercury, which rules the thought processes, are both in Sagittarius. His Moon, the planet that rules emotions, is in Pisces. Sagittarius is the most athletic amongst all signs and Pisces is the most adaptable.It’s little wonder that at 37, he is fit as a fiddle.

But his zodiac signs are not known for their leadership skills and hence his discomfort in being the leader of the team. This is a very curious combination. While Sagittarius is one of the most optimistic and aggressive zodiac signs, Pisces is the most emotional, passive and pessimistic amongst the zodiac. His natural stance is defence since Pisces is a master in stonewalling!

Therefore, he found it difficult to adapt to the pace of ODIs and T20s initially. But, the same Pisces adaptability, coupled with the fiery aggression of Sagittarius, have helped him overcome his initial hang-ups to become a ‘floater’.

He started playing in 1996 during the transit of Jupiter in own house. The strong Jupiter placed in his 10th house, the house of Karma or career, helped him score over 11,000 runs in Test cricket.

The best period for him in ODIs happened in 1999 World Cup, when he was the highest run scorer. This was the time when Pluto was transiting its own house Scorpio, which is his 9th house, the house of luck and higher achievements.

The current transit of ‘Planet-Y’, an exoplanet, a planet beyond our solar system, may not be so conducive to him. The period of ‘Planet-Y’, which started in January 2010, would run through till the end of 2012, which would see Dravid go through a lean patch. He will take some major life decisions which would change his association with cricket.He might well retire from competitive cricket before 2012-end.

He may find it difficult to get into the Indian team for the 2011 World Cup, though the chances cannot be completely ruled out due to the unavailability of his correct birth time. But, even if he’s selected, he may not be able to create the impact of 1999, as his best, the Pluto period, is already over.

Yes, expect him to light up the stadiums with his power hitting and play a stellar role for RCB, if they are to go all the way in the Champions League.

Lobo is a city-based astrologer

S0URCE : DNA INDIA

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RCB better prepared for CL T20, says Dravid

All set for the Champions League in South Africa, former RCB skipper and their premier batsman Rahul Dravid hoped the Anil Kumble-led side would replicate their performance the previous time there.

“It is exciting to play the Champions League in South Africa,” said the right-hander here on Monday at a function organised to announce the winners of RCB’s Fanatic Fans Challenge -III.

RCB’s stirring run in South Africa in 2009 after suffering four consecutive losses wasn’t lost on the former Indian captain. “We were among the better sides in the South African conditions as we showed during the second edition of the IPL,” he pointed out. Dravid was one of the better performers for RCB in the Protean conditions, where the low team totals were the norms, notching up 271 runs, the third highest for the Bangalore side.
Though Dravid indicated that teams other than IPL held a slight advantage in terms playing of together for a longer period, he hoped the experience of having played as a unit for the last three years should hold them in good stead. “As Indian teams it does get difficult as we assemble just ahead of the tournament but then we have played three IPLs together and our team has settled well,” he remarked.

The preparation, too, was going to be crucial this time, according to Dravid. “This time we have more time to prepare and get used to the conditions. We are better prepared for the tournament. Yes, it is the Champions League and it is a tough tournament but we have a good team. The Indian teams will have to adjust quicker,” he observed.
Besides Dravid, RCB’s hard-hitting batsman Robin Uthappa and Siddarth Mallya, Director Royal Challengers Sports Ltd, were the other judges who adjudged the three winners -- Chief Blogger, Chief Photographer and Chief Podcaster -- from 21 short-listed fans. The trio who will travel with the team and capture all the cricket action from South Africa, both on and off-field.

“It’s one of the toughest decisions I’d to make. It’s not just about the quality, but the passion they brought about,” said Dravid, who was adjudicated the chief blogger. Uthappa selected the photographer while Mallya chose the podcaster.

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Bradman best: ‘scientific’ study’ [Dravid 10]

A‘scientific’ analysis of batting achievements in Test cricket has found what most people already know — that Don Bradman was the greatest batsman in the game. A paper, written by two economists, analysed factors such as consistency of scoring, value of a batsman’s runs to the team and home-away record, and found that the Australian great was leagues ahead of the rest on all counts.
That’s hardly a surprise. But the paper has some far more interesting conclusions. While just five Indians qualify in the top 50 on the basis of their career averages, in none of the parameters does Sachin Tendulkar, the highest run scorer in Tests, emerge on top even among Indian batsmen.
For instance, in terms of value of runs scored to the team, Virender Sehwag is India’s top batsman (overall rank 6), followed by Rahul Dravid and Tendulkar.
On consistency of scoring, Dravid (rank 4) pips Sachin (5), followed by Sunil Gavaskar (11), Sehwag (12) and Vinod Kambli (13).
In another ranking based on career contribution to the team score, Dravid and Gavaskar (both ranked 5) emerge as India’s top batsmen. Then come Tendulkar and Sehwag (both 6) and Kambli (8). ‘Sehwag best among Indians’
Don Bradman has been proved to be the top batsman scientifically, according to a research paper.
The paper — The ‘Bradman Class’: An Exploration of Some Issues in the Evaluation of Batsmen for Test Matches, 1877-2006 — uses a list of 50 batsmen from all eras who had the highest career averages for their analysis. Written by economists Vani K Borooah, University of Ulster (UK), and John E Mangan of University of Queensland, Australia, the paper was published in the Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports.
The rankings of contemporary batsmen, however, may be misleading as the paper uses batting averages up to 2006. For instance, in 2006, Dravid was No.4 in the alltime batting averages list with an average of 58. At present, his average is down to around 53.
The paper works on the premise that the method of calculating batting averages glosses over many aspects of good batsmanship. “It does not take into account consistency of scores across innings: a batsman might have a high career average but with low scores interspersed with high ones; another might have a lower average but with much less variation in his scores,’’ it notes.
Secondly, the paper argues, batting averages do not reflect the value of the player’s runs to the team. “Arguably, a century, when the total score is 600, has less value compared to a half-century in an innings total of 200.’’
The authors use several equations from economics to suggest new ways of computing batting that could complement the existing method and “present a more complete picture of batsmens’ performance.’’ Based on these “new’’ averages, the paper offers several revised rankings of the world’s top 50 batsmen.
For measuring consistency of performance, the authors use the Gini coefficient, a popular method for computing inequality in the distribution of outcomes. After applying the coefficient to the top 50 batsmen, while Bradman remains No.1, South African batting great R G Pollock (ranked 2 on averages) falls three places to rank 5 and West Indian George Headley — also known as the “Black Bradman’’ — falls five places, from No.2 to No.7. Among Indians, Dravid and Gavaskar hold their ranks but Sehwag falls four places and Tendulkar two places.

Other coefficients and parameters analysed by the authors — such as value of a batsman’s scores to the team — are accompanied by their own rankings based on the weightage the authors have given to these factors.
The authors claim that their methods are a vast improvement over the current system of averages. “For example, in the paper we talk about (Adam) Gilchrist, who was a great batsman but often came in at No.7, either having to get quick runs or survive. You’d expect that his average suffered in some way. We believe our method corrects for some of those problems,’’ Mangan told the Sydney Morning Herald.

TOP GUN[INDIA]: Sehwag


CREDITS : http://epaper.timesofindia.com

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Pujaras, Rahanes and Pandeys can wait, India needs Dravid

ARTICLE BY DILIP VENGSARKAR

I really don’t know whether we will get players as focused, dedicated and disciplined as Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble. No wonder they all have played more than 15 years of international cricket and achieved great feats.

Their performances on all kinds of wickets and in different conditions have been exemplary to say the least.

Though Anil has retired and Sachin at present is batting as if he is in his early 20s, critics on the other hand want Rahul Dravid to quit and make way for a younger batsman. As Vijay Merchant used to say, call it quits when people ask why, rather than why not.

I once asked a former great player what’s the best time to retire and he said it should be when you lose the motivation for the game and when it becomes difficult to put away bad balls to the boundary. Mind you, when in form, one does score runs off the good deliveries as well.

Well, I feel Rahul has a lot of cricket still left in him. Just because he failed in one series and is in his late 30s does not mean he should hang up his boots.

He is fitter than most, works hard at his game and still has the motivation to get out in the middle and grind the opposition.

However, being out of reckoning for the one-dayers, it must be difficult for him to wait for the Test series to begin. As it is there are less number of Test matches these days, it’s all the more tough for him. Under the circumstances, the batsman gets into the match with a lot of pressure to perform. I feel it’s important for a batsman to keep playing in all formats of the game at the international level.

VVS Laxman’s case at present is somewhat similar to that of Dravid, for one failure and the knives are out to get them. To his credit, Laxman has always performed whenever he’s gone out to bat and he’s been doing so for a long time now.

It’s tougher for him as he’s not being considered for One-day Internationals for the last five years or so. It calls for tremendous temperament and will to succeed. And, both Rahul and Laxman have it in plenty.

After being sidelined for the ODIs recently, Rahul, to his credit, has never missed an opportunity to turn up for his state team Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy. He did score heavily and the young Karnataka players like Manish Pandey and Robin Uthappa must have learnt a thing or two while forging partnerships with him.

I always believe that it’s the duty of every cricketer to contribute to his state or his club team by playing alongside young players and guiding them in their formative years. With so many international matches scheduled these days that’s a rarity.

With Australia scheduled to play Test series come October, the Pujaras, Rahanes and Pandeys can wait. India need Rahul Dravid’s solidity at No 3.

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Is Rahul Dravid really out of form?

Purpose of this post? Well, you can judge from the title itself - because you (like me) too heard what Mr. Tony Greig said. One bad series and some people have already started to predict Rahul Dravid's retirement.




So the question is - is "The Wall" crumbling?
And the answer as usual is - NO.

Lets take a look at what the statistics say-

Check his scores in 2009 and 2010:

India vs NewZealand
66
8*
83
62
35
60

India vs Srilanka
177
38
144
74

India vs Bangaladesh
4
24
111*
(got injured and missed SA series)

India vs Srilanka

18
44
3
23
7

-In years 2009 and 2010, he has scored 981 runs in 18 innings at an average of 61.31
-He was the top scorer for Team India in calendar year 2009 with 787 runs at an average of 83

No doubt, this series was not good for him at all, but this is something every cricketer has to go through in his career. And players like Rahul Dravid can easily come out of it.

Just to share with you all- Rahul Dravid is now 4 catches away from whopping 200 mark.

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