Rahul Dravid, captain of the Rajasthan Royals, believes that the best players should play for their country.
"I would love to see him bowl at Lord's (where West Indies is playing England in the on-going first Test match). It has been a terrific pleasure to play and watch him bowl in the IPL. Bowlers of that quality and class should be playing Test cricket ," were Dravid's comments on West Indian Sunil Narine, who is the leading wicket-taker (21) for Kolkata Knight Riders in this edition of IPL.
"It is always important for all the young talent to continue their impressive run in the IPL into the domestic circuit too. We have seen in the past some of the players who did so well in IPL failing to come good in domestic cricket, say for instance in Ranji Trophy. Here, I think Ajinkya Rahane (Dravid's teammate and leading scorer for Rajasthan Royals in this IPL) is an exception," the batting great explained to another query.
"There was some exceptional Indian talent which really impressed me in this edition. To name a few Rahane was outstanding. Shikhar Dhawan batted beautifully. Awana is showing lot of promise. Mandeep Singh is another young and solid player. Of course, I am not surprised by Rayudu's batting for he has been around the scene for quite some time," Dravid said to a query.
Reflecting on the loss to Deccan Chargers on Friday night which effectively dashed Royals' hopes of qualifying for the play-offs, Dravid confessed that it was a disappointing performance. "We did not play well and we did not bat well. A total of 150-plus would have been very competitive on this wicket. But that was not to be," he said.
"Yes, we would have loved to go back to Jaipur by winning this game and play the last one with the hope of qualifying for the next phase. Unfortunately, it did not happen. That is life," said a poignant Dravid.
"I think overall we surprised quite a lot of people with our performance this season. There have been many positives for our team," he said to a query.
"Definitely, it has been a very emotional two months for me with this team with which I was so busy, interacting with the players. Enjoyed terrific support from franchisee," Dravid observed. "May be, after the last game once I go back home and then experience what it means to be a retired cricketer. Then, realise that I have no job to do," he said with a smile. "I have not given a thought about my plans on the next edition of IPL. Still a long way to go," he added.
Keywords: IPL-V, Sunil Narine, Rahul Dravid
What else to add. Kohli and Rohit Sharma have to necessarly step into
the shoes of Dravid, Sachin in one dayers and more importantly in Tests.
Time beckons.
Rahul Dravid - I shall continue to mourn your loss. Sachin, learn from your more illustrious peer.
You cannot buy class, you may not even achieve it. You can practice and polish it, but certainly it has to be part of your DNA. Thanks to Dravid for the memories.
with the start of ipl5 RR were seen in doubt whether dravid will match the mentor qualities when compared to shane warn and with the end we all know...dravid's mentorship is at par when compared to shane warn....long live dravid long live cricket
Thats what differentiates Dravid from Sachin. No problem Dravid, even if RR did not qualify for play offs !
The wall in his new avatar as captain showed good promise with exceptional batting display with good strike rate as well. Being a bangalorean i enjoyed his captaincy and cherished those winning moments he led his team to.Hope for turnaround for RR in next season
Only a man with true sportsmanship can think and Say this.......!!!
Dravid led by example and hence his team played with great sportsmanship. Other big teams & players needs to learn from this if the spirit of cricket has to be maintained. Great Man Great Attitude...
Dravid the legend! It was only because of Dravid that I followed one particular team (RR) and that too in the IPL. Otherwise I'm most content not to even merit IPL a glance - Sachin with his ambitions, Ganguly with his antics and SRK with his theatrics, would never merit any interest from me (with due respect to their fans, though).
Setting aside betting,scams and Khan's episode the selectors have
to take serious note of the honest comments of Dravid about the
fine and consistent performances with the bat and ball of some of
the players who are not even knopcking at the doors of the
selectors.They should be taken with doors wide open and straight
away make them regular ones in all forms of the game.We beg the
so called seniors and record holders who have miserably failed
in all the IPL matches to hand over their balls and bats to these
youngsters.If it is neccessary more IPL tournements could be
fixed for the old greats to entertain the crowds .
you are a legend.
Hats off to Dravid. This is what I expect from other cricketers. I just
supported Rajastan Royals because it`s led by nice gentle man. looking
forward for many such guys in Indian Team And keep Cricket alive.
Hats off to Dravid for his gentle manners and composure. RR lacked a bit of class, and Shane Watson was nowhere near his best. But, giving chance to Rehane and Menaria is good for Indian cricket.
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