The Hindu : Sport : I feel really bad for Dravid, says G.R. Viswanath

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 31, 2007
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Sport

I feel really bad for Dravid, says G.R. Viswanath

Special Correspondent

— Photo: Rajeev Bhatt

WHAT’S AHEAD? Rahul Dravid, dropped for the first two ODIs against Pakistan, will play in the Ranji Trophy.

BANGALORE: It’s back to the arena from where Rahul Dravid made his impact first on the selectors of the Indian team. Shunned (for the first two ODIs against Pakistan) by the present selection committee, the outgoing former Indian skipper Rahul Dravid has decided to turn out for his State team in the forthcoming Ranji Trophy matches.

Dravid will play under the captaincy of Anil Kumble in the first fixture of the Group ‘A’ schedule, in the elite division.

Karnataka is pitted against title holder Mumbai in the first match, scheduled to be played from November 3 to 6 at Mumbai.

Reactions on omission

G.R. Viswanath: I feel really bad for Dravid, not because he’s from Karnataka but because he’s truly one of India’s greatest cricketers.

I have been reading the papers and I think it is very unfortunate for Dravid. But such things have happened in Indian cricket from time immemorial and continue to happen.

The selectors seem to have forgotten Dravid’s contribution to Indian cricket. He has a tremendous aggregate with over 10,000 runs under his belt. You can’t treat a cricketer with such statistics like that. This only shows there is something wrong somewhere in Indian cricket.

I have never commented on this episode and I feel very sad for him. I can only imagine how Dravid is feeling at the moment.

His chances of a comeback depend entirely whether he was ‘rested’ or ‘dropped.’

Brijesh Patel: I think it is shocking! He’s the most dependable Indian player and he’s an ideal team man.

If he was selfish he would have stuck to batting at his strongest position which is number three.

But he served the cause of the team and batted at different positions. The shuffling around has certainly affected his form.

Just look at his record against Pakistan and you will see what he’s capable of. He would have been an ideal foil against Pakistan.

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