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Zaheer contradicts Dravids decision - he wasn't tired


Rajiv

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Zaheer Khan contradicts Dravid India's series win against England on English soil in 21 years was certainly historic, however, the series was also mired in controversy surrounding Captain Rahul Dravid's decision to play safe. Even as Dravid stood ground defending his decision, pace bowler Zaheer Khan has contradicted his Captain’s justification. Interestingly, this was also India’s third win since India stepped into the Test arena 75 years ago. It was a time to rejoice, pop the champagne and soak in the victory but inspite of the feat, skipper Rahul Dravid's legacy will be blemished by his refusal to make England follow-on in the third Test at Oval. Defending his decision, the Rahul Dravid said: “Well it’s just that my bowlers had bowled 90 odd overs, I can understand why people are disappointed sitting in their living rooms , but I have to look at my bowlers and the amount of work load they have put in the long series. I know them from close quarters and know their body language.” Team India skipper Rahul Dravid conveyed his point for not making England follow-on trying desperately to justify his decision even when sitting on a huge first innings lead of 319, making his bowlers the scapegoat for his lack of courage and conviction. But India's man of the series -- Zaheer Khan -- has a different story to tell. The man, who picked up 18 wickets in the 3-Test series reveals to TIMES NOW that he disagreed with his captain's theory. Reacting to the statement made by Dravid, Zaheer Khan said:“I don't think I was tired. As far as I'm concerned, I have given everything in this series.” Tired he might have been after bending his back but certainly Zaheer had the stomach to fight for a win, a win that could have made the series victory all the more memorable. Meanwhile, Former Selectors of Chairman, Kiran More criticised the statement made by Zaheer saying that it was against the protocol. More said:"I am very surprised that Zaheer has made this statement after the Captain took a stand in a press conference. It's just lack of communication." And setting England a target of 500 runs to chase at Oval clearly showed Dravid's lack of confidence in his bowling attack. The line-up which clinched the 2nd Test at Trent Bridge for this momentous occasion. http://www.timesnow.tv/Newsdtls.aspx?NewsID=2031

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I dont really understand what all the fuss is about, to be honest. What do you people expect Zaheer to have said when asked that question ? Surely not something along the lines of " Yes , I was busted , couldnt even stand on two legs ? " Ofcourse he would say he wasnt tired and he was willing to give it all blah blah. The decision to bat again was a team one , Dravid SHOULD NOT be singled out for criticism. If anything , the entire Indian team should collectively bear responsibility for not being able to force a win after scoring 664. And to add on, I am pretty sure India didnt bowl again because of Bowler fatigue or whatever. If the series had been tied 1-1 , you could bet your bottom dollar we would have bowled again , bowler workload not withstanding. It is obvious the Indian team didnt want to take a chance with enforcing the follow on and having to bat last. Dravid missed a trick here , giving bowler fatigue as a reason when there would be no takers for it. He must have told something like "We thought we had a better chance to bowl them out on day 5 , with the pressure of a huge total and lots of close-in attacking fielders. Besides , we felt 110 overs was more than enough to get them out in the 4th innings."

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Dravid missed a trick here , giving bowler fatigue as a reason when there would be no takers for it. He must have told something like "We thought we had a better chance to bowl them out on day 5 , with the pressure of a huge total and lots of close-in attacking fielders. Besides , we felt 110 overs was more than enough to get them out in the 4th innings."
This would have been a better explanation. But Dravid could have taken into account the weather, the cloudy sky, the humidity expected in the air and should have believed in his seamers more than having faith in Kumble. Still, I don't blame him at all for this safety first attitude. Ruthlessness will only come when we start winning more.
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series win >>> match win. Dravid played conservatively- i say DAMN RIGHT! learn to walk before you fly- its been ages since we won in england- let us keep the 'playing a competetive match that went down to the wire and 2-0 ind win but england came close to 1-1' type shenanigans for the next time. We are not Australia. We don't go around clobbering everyone all and sundry overseas. They didn't either in the start. Get into the habit of winning before winning becomes a habit, so to speak. I'd have done exactly the same, hell, i'd have batted on and on in the 2nd innings and made it a universal impossibility for England to win the match. We won the war. Thats what matters. who won the seperate battles are all nifty to see but bottomline is winning the war (the series), not each and every battle ( sessions, tests, etc). Ofcourse, if this team had won 4 of the last 5-6 series overseas, i'd have been all for Dravid going 'pedal to the metal' mode. But situation here is different.

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Zaheer contradicts Dravids decision - he wasn't tired
Read this article: Displeasure over ‘twisted’ comment However, team sources believe that this wasn’t the tone of what Zaheer wanted to say. Hence the observation that it was “twisted†out of context. All this has left the team (set to play their first ODI, versus Scotland in Glasgow) a bit flabbergasted. It has also immediately shut all manner of conversation with the cricketers. “Winning in England after 21 years is a great epoch-making event,†said the source. “And instead of rejoicing in this victory and getting ready for the other battles ahead, the team has to face a barrage of unnecessary questions.†The basic reaction has been, it is learnt, is that of anger. The issue has not gone down well with the players, and the team seems to be all backing Dravid on this. So there!! This is the second occasion within 2-3 weeks that Timesnow has given a 'twisted' news which far from truth!! What on earth are they gaining by truing to give the public these false news? Aren't they losing their credibility?
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I dont really understand what all the fuss is about, to be honest. The decision to bat again was a team one , Dravid SHOULD NOT be singled out for criticism.
You keep saying this, mm. Where is your reference ? RD's answers in regards to the decision have been answered with an I, not a we. Anyway, how ever many times you (Sandro and others) go over and over this, it doesn't change anything. You've said it all. This topic is about Zaheer contradicting (or not) Dravid.
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Times now has no credibility. Two guys sit on stools and no matter what the situation is....criticise the team and specially dravid.The heading they were running was" Zaheer attacks Dravid " in capitals. This channel lifts videos from U-tube and runs them as their programmes without any credits to U-tube.They turn these clips into hour long programmes.So you can imagine how desperate they are for news.

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