The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : `Dravid leads by example'

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Friday, Dec 29, 2006
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`Dravid leads by example'

Special Correspondent

Durban: Dilip Vengsarkar and the team-management have had some tough decisions to make on the ongoing tour of South Africa.

Vengsarkar, the chairman of the Indian selection panel, opened up to The Hindu in this interview.

On his selection meetings with the team-management on the current tour

Myself, Greg (Chappell) and Rahul (Dravid) are of the same wavelength. We are like-minded people. Actually, the meetings to pick the eleven are over in five minutes. We spend a longer time discussing strategy.

On Chappell being a dominating personality

This impression about him is completely false. I found him to be a very reasonable man, welcome to new suggestions. He also has one of the finest cricketing minds. I have played against him as a cricketer, he was a great batsman.

On the decision to send back Irfan Pathan

Greg first came up with the suggestion. There was agreement all around. We explained it to Irfan. He understood.

On Rahul Dravid as captain

He is learning all the time. He is a very intelligent man. Leads by example.

On grooming openers for the future

It is a specialist job. Sachin Tendulkar came up with an interesting suggestion the other day to use the Kookaburra ball for the first innings of a domestic match, and have the SG ball for the second. The Kookaburra ball moves a lot early on, but does little later. The SG ball, which has a more pronounced seam, does little early, but reverses later. This way the education for our batsmen, including the openers, would be more complete. The bowlers will benefit too.

On his revolutionary ideas on pitches

You should remove home advantage for domestic cricket. Teams should play on neutral venues. The associations that do not produce sporting pitches should be heavily fined.

On India facing a scenario like Australia with several senior cricketers leaving at the same time

We could face such a period. Rahul, Sachin, Ganguly and Laxman are about the same age, Kumble is slightly older. That is why we need our stars to take part in Duleep and Irani Trophy, not just the Challenger Series. The standard of our domestic cricket is rather poor. If the leading Indian cricketers participate, we would be able to assess talent better. We need to strengthen domestic cricket, give importance to `A' tours. This said, seniors like Ganguly and Laxman have contributed on this tour.

On the lack of quality depth in spin

It is worrying. That is why we require tracks with consistent bounce. This is essential for unearthing good spinners as well.

On the selection of India's 14-member squad for the World Cup

We could have seven batsmen, six bowlers including two spinners, and a wicket-keeper. We could probably have an all-rounder, probably not.

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