Rahul Dravid's interview : for all those who have criticised him!

[coffee_rules]

But why did Zaheer Knan speak out??? Did he not hear what his captain said at the presentation ceremony?? Why did he want to embarass Dravid?? This is inexplicable!!

I don't believe what the Indian press writes these days. They look for the sensation it creates and don't care about verifying the facts. A lot of sound bytes are mere hearsays from sources close to the team. Like the recent NDtv/DNAIndia article about the seniors' disagreement over playing 20-20 WC. It was never proven that they had differences. IMO, the Indian press has no credibility.

[monkeyfood]

I guess he really talked well for this interview but i still think that he needs to get rid of the shell he hides in when he gets into situations like11-3

[Chandan]

I don't believe what the Indian press writes these days. They look for the sensation it creates and don't care about verifying the facts. A lot of sound bytes are mere hearsays from sources close to the team. Like the recent NDtv/DNAIndia article about the seniors' disagreement over playing 20-20 WC. It was never proven that they had differences. IMO' date=' the Indian press has no credibility.[/quote'] Oh, well; they cannot fabricate Zaheer khan saying all these things and show them on TV, can they?

[The Outsider]

Was reading an article on Munaf on cricinfo a few minutes back where he was saying how he wanted to bowl from closer to stumps at less pace despite the fact it was twitching his back. Foolhardy stuff. Fast bowlers might say they were not tired/not injured but I am sure the decision was taken by Dravid in consultation with the physio and the long term in mind.

[beetle]

Zaheer can say what he wants in hindsight. But no one would have blamed him if he couldn't bowl well because of whatever problem he had.The fact is, fitness is a sensitive issue with Zaheer and no one expects him to say...Yes..i was tired . If the bowlers were so fit and raring to win it all ,how come we couldn't take all the wickets on the 5th day?

[Donny]

The point really is, he didn't need to say anything except, "I support my captain" and left it at that.

[Salu 86]

But why did Zaheer Khan speak out??? Did he not hear what his captain said at the presentation ceremony?? Why did he want to embarass Dravid?? This is inexplicable!!

Zaheer did hear it but he defended himself by saying this.Coz Dravid ne apna decision defend kerne ke lye sara masla bowlers ki fitness per thonp dya.

[The Outsider]

The point really is' date=' he didn't need to say anything except, "I support my captain" and left it at that.[/quote'] Agree on that, but the Indian media is notorious for asking leading questions and misquoting people for juicy headlines. All the more reason for cricketers to be very careful with what they say one might say, but not all have the same maturity levels.

[zubinpepsi]

Zaheer can say what he wants in hindsight. But no one would have blamed him if he couldn't bowl well because of whatever problem he had.The fact is' date=' fitness is a sensitive issue with Zaheer and no one expects him to say...Yes..i was tired . If the bowlers were so fit and raring to win it all ,how come we couldn't take all the wickets on the 5th day?[/quote'] being fit doesnt necessarily translate to the ability of taking wickets..

[beetle]

But their inability to do so vindicates dravid's decision.

[coffee_rules]

Agree on that' date=' but the Indian media is notorious for asking leading questions and misquoting people for juicy headlines. All the more reason for cricketers to be very careful with what they say one might say, but not all have the same maturity levels.[/quote'] Thoughts on how this is done , apparently for TRPs: (from PPanicker's blog) "The second part of this particular story has less to do with the players, and more to do with television, and the TRP game. Zaheer was asked several questions by a particular channel. One of them was whether the tough, hard-fought series had taken a physical toll, which told on his body and led to his being unable to perform at his best in the second innings at the Oval. Zaheer answered that he had done all he could for his team and wasn’t aware of being particularly tired. The question was jettisoned, the answer alone carried as a sound byte, and talking heads promptly came on to talk of contradictions in the team. Just another case of conflict of interests, perhaps: the team doing well is not particularly good news for TRP ratings; dissension, revolt and such however are, and if they don’t intrinsically exist, then what the hell, a little tweak is all it takes to create it."

[beetle]

They didn't show the question......and they didn't show the entire answer...just what they were looking for....and there....they had their news item for the next two days.

[Guest BossBhai]

-- Removed on request of the user --

[Brainfade]

Would it be of 96 pages but only 12 with anything on them ?

Touche'! One of the most scathingly funny things I've ever read!!

[Chandan]

Spot on .... shameless media with no responsibilities and no one to question them or challenge them.

At least Timesnow has lost all its credibility and I'll NEVER turn this channel on, even by mistakes It joins the list of ignored news channels now by me along with Star News!!

[Chandan]

Have any of you read this article? Dravid-doubters must read it: Zaheer's Fitness Subject Of Much Speculation

[Zap_Brannigan]

Our seamers bowls, on an average, around 20 overs per day which was around the same number of overs he bowled in the last day. Is it dramatically different than bowling those 20 overs in the 4th day? So Zaheer cant bowl 40 competitive overs in 15 days? We finished the 2nd test on Jul 31. He bowled 100 overs in the 1st 2 tests in a space of 15 days....Zaheer is just an example. All the 3 seamers had ample time between the 2nd and 3rd test and an extra 20 overs on the 4th day instead of the 5th day wouldn't have mattered much. Dravid is just making an excuse for a bad decision.

[King Tendulkar]

It was a good decision! As shown by the fact the trophy is coming to India:yay: I would have batted on day 5 as well just to make sure :DWhen are people going to realise that winning a series is far more important then throwing it away to win a solitary test match

[The Outsider]

Our seamers bowls, on an average, around 20 overs per day which was around the same number of overs he bowled in the last day. Is it dramatically different than bowling those 20 overs in the 4th day? So Zaheer cant bowl 40 competitive overs in 15 days? We finished the 2nd test on Jul 31. He bowled 100 overs in the 1st 2 tests in a space of 15 days....Zaheer is just an example. All the 3 seamers had ample time between the 2nd and 3rd test and an extra 20 overs on the 4th day instead of the 5th day wouldn't have mattered much. Dravid is just making an excuse for a bad decision.

This post is a classic example of what Dravid was referring to when he talked of living room critics. Some random numbers without any knowledge of the actual situation. Not that I have that knowledge, but you've got to trust an experienced player like Dravid to weigh this number crunching versus the reality.

[feverpitch]

But their inability to do so vindicates dravid's decision.

quite the opposite. with the weather forecast of overcast skies and rain on day 4, and with the eng 1st innings coming to end within 7 overs in the morning, enforcing the follow on was not the seppuku that many have suggested. it's actually the height of pusillanimity shown by a player who tries to justify scoring 12 off 96 while trying to set up a target. blond Dravidians should better accept that there are some things outside the realms of possibility for their resident god, including being aggressive and a leader, and move on.