The Hindu : Sport : We'll have to play very well to win: Dravid

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jan 06, 2006

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We'll have to play very well to win: Dravid

Rakesh Rao

THE BIG THREE: Team India coach Greg Chappell, BCCI president Sharad Pawar and captain Rahul Dravid in New Delhi on Thursday ahead of the team's departure to Pakistan. India will play three Tests and five ODIs against its neighbour. - PHOTO: PTI

NEW DELHI: From the day Rahul Dravid began his international career a decade ago, he impressed with his organised ways on a cricket field. His disciplined batting, patient approach and fierce determination all contributed in making him a performer the team could rely on. Once Dravid established himself in the team, his temperament made him a perfect candidate for captaincy.

Eventually, when `full-time' captaincy came Dravid's way, none grudged it. The impressive displays of the team recently at home against Sri Lanka and South Africa have only reinforced his place at the helm. Now comes Dravid's toughest challenge as a skipper.

Hours before the team's departure to Lahore on Thursday, Dravid took time off to share his thoughts, mainly on the complexities of captaincy, with The Hindu.

ON TO THE REAL TEST: After India's impressive performances at home, Dravid faces a stiff challenge in Pakistan. — Photo: Rajeev Bhatt

On his first overseas tour as captain: Pakistan is always a great place to tour. We'll have to play very well to win there. But really I am looking forward to playing 45 days of good cricket.

On whether it is more exciting only because it is Pakistan: It would have been exciting anywhere in the world. To be honest, I would have said the same thing even if it were England or Australia. Challenges are different in different countries. Wickets are different. Conditions are different. But it is always fun to represent your country and travel abroad and to be able to do your best.

On the added hype ahead of touring Pakistan: I think every series nowadays has so much hype and hoopla around it, no matter which team we are playing. People create it and make it big. The amount of people in India and Pakistan watching apart from those around the word probably makes it the most watched series. It's exciting there are so many people going to watch us play.

On the gains from the 2004 series: Probably the confidence of having won the last time we played there. We have done well in those conditions. But in two years, times are different and several players are different. You can't read too much into it. The fact is that we've been to Pakistan there is some familiarity and some confidence.

On the timing of getting captaincy: There is no right or wrong time to get captaincy. There are things not in my hand and I don't worry about them. I try to do my best whenever I get the opportunity. You got to focus on what you can control and try your best as a player and as a captain.

On leading an experience team: At the end of the day, it is the captain who takes all the decisions. You can give advice to people and get advised by other people. A captain can get and must get all the help all the time. Take as much help from the people. I don't think any captain has all the knowledge in the world. I don't believe I have all the knowledge. So getting a bit of advice from people will help. But as a captain, I'll have the final word.

On paucity of time to analyse and assess: Nowadays, there is a lot of cricket, back-to-back series. You are practically recovering and playing, recovering and playing. You got to learn along the way. You got to react quickly to situations. You don't have the luxury of going back or go at a slow pace. The challenge lies in how quickly you react to things in a given situation.

On the captain being as good as the team: I agree that a skipper is as good as the team. A captain can only do so much and it is the individual performances of the players that matter. When I say that, I do know and realise that a captain does play an important role. But at the end of the day, the team is most important.

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