Rahul Dravid called for a cleansing of the negative influences surrounding Indian Premier League as the great batsman hinted at playing his swansong innings in the hugely popular T20 tournament on Friday at the Eden Gardens.
“Truth always sets you free, that’s what I believe. I really hope that one gets to the bottom of it (the match-fixing allegations surrounding the IPL) and get the truth out, however painful it may be” Dravid said after his team Rajasthan Royals lost the second qualifier to Mumbai Indians.
“It was difficult, something that I have never experienced before. You plan for lot of things, for wins, for failures but when stuff like this comes up you don’t know what to do…It was quite challenging,” Dravid added with a disconcerting tone looking back at the arrest of three of his team-mates and the subsequent unfolding of one of the biggest crisis surrounding Indian cricket.
Surmising his own future Dravid said the Champions League tournament could well be his final outing in cricket. “At (the age of) 41, 12 months is a long way away,” Dravid virtually nullified his chances of playing in the next IPL. “Luckily we have qualified for the Champions League which is a few months away. You know, I think that would be it,” the great player seems to have decided on where to put the full stop.
Fantastic tournament
The Rajasthan Royals captain said there is no point in forbidding a tournament for the mistake of some individuals.
“Cricket is great. There is no doubt about it. I have always said the IPL is a fantastic tournament. There are a lot of positives about it,” he said.
“But there are challenges in the IPL as well as we have seen in the last week or 10 days. You have to deal with the challenges.
“There is no point in completely throwing away the tournament. It is like throwing away the baby with the bath water,” Dravid insisted on the need to have specific treatment for specific problems.
“The issue of betting is not only about the IPL. We have seen in the past that the issue has been there in International cricket. We did not end international cricket because of that,” Dravid said.
“We need to sort the issue out rather than making statements like ‘cancel the IPL’ because there are some real good positives that have come out of it,” Dravid added.
