The Hindu : Sport : No rift, says Dravid

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Thursday, May 10, 2007
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No rift, says Dravid

Rahul Dravid. — PHOTO: AFP

Dhaka: Indian skipper Rahul Dravid on Wednesday said he had received full support from Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly during the World Cup, dismissing reports that the two players had undermined his leadership.

``To be honest with you, I felt I had as much support as I needed. I was very happy with the team that I had and the support that I had. Other than that I really don't know what it is and what it is all about,'' Dravid told newspersons on the eve of India's first one-dayer against Bangladesh.

In a television sting operation, four of the five national selectors were caught claiming that Tendulkar and Ganguly did not cooperate with Dravid in the World Cup and were dropped from the Bangladesh tour for that reason.

However, refusing to attach much importance to the sting operation, Dravid said, ``I am not going to react on these sting operations or any of this stuff.''

When mentioned that the quotes were attributed to a national selector, the Indian skipper said, ``I haven't seen anything and I cannot comment on everything that somebody says.''

Focussed

Moving on, Dravid said the contract issue would not have a bearing on the players' performance on the tour.

``The players don't have that in the back of their minds. They have cricket and are focussed totally on cricket,'' Dravid told the media.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has formed a two-member committee to hold detailed discussions with the players, who are said to be unhappy with the retainer fee offered to them and also certain clauses incorporated in the contracts due from last October.

The BCCI vice-president, Shashank Manohar, and treasurer, N. Srinivasan, are in the committee, which would talk to the players after the Bangladesh tour.

Dravid said the players had not had any interaction with the Board on the issue ever since the tour started.

``These things will be taken care of,'' he said.

The BCCI, which wanted the players to sign the contracts before leaving for Bangladesh, later made a climb down and said the matter would be sorted out after the tour. — PTI

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