Dravid will bounce back against England, says Ganguly

[Rajiv]

..but please, dravid was supposed to retire after the 3rd TEST, from reliable sources - the press conference Aree uska kya hua bhai

[Guest HariSampath]

Dravid changed his mind, as simple as that....he wants to try and stretch his BCCI A contract for a few more weeks perhaps, because announcing retirement will terminate it...and its worth several millions ( for a few runs per month )...as Dravid has been living on Kumble's charity till now.

[CC1981]

2 questions. 1. If India is 250-3 in 65 overs in a test match, is Dravid the man you want to be walking in ( a terribly out of form Dravid averaging 17 at # 3 lately ), and obviously wanting to scratch together a 150 ball 50 to save his place, at that time of the game 2. If India is 50-3 in the first hour, with Sehwag, Gambhir and Sachin out, what can the same Dravid do to pull India out ? by playing for 150 balls to get 35 runs, get out and take us to a grand 120- 4( or 5) ? As I dont expect Dravid to get either a fast 80 in the former case or a steady 140 in the latter case, I dont think Dravid's place is justified.

Your questions are naive, lacking any decent understanding of cricket and ultimately irrelevant. For one, a 150 ball 50 can be either a total waste of time or an invaluable effort to save the game - even if it comes after 250-3 after 65 overs - what if thats the 2nd innings, India is nursing a 20 run 1st innings lead and its only the third day ? More than 'job done' IMO. Secondly, Dravid deserves the chance to rediscover his form at #5/6. When worldclass/great players go through a torrid time, it is stupid to say ' you are worldclass, so we expect better and will do everything to make life difficult for you' - what is far more logical is to try and make life EASIER for them, so that they can rediscover their form- as that would be well worth the effort. Thirdly, you can rant all you want - the precident is in my side : the last time Dravid went down to #5/6, he was going through a rough time at #3 and promptly rediscovered his form. And lastly, as i said earlier, trying to make Dravid's life easier for the next series or two makes helluva lot more sense than throwing in yet another newbie in the mix. As i said, our batting order is far stronger on paper than in reality : Veeru is amazing but will contribute in 1 out of 3-4 innings, Gambhir is anything but 'certainty' in the test side - though he is in the process of cementing his place, Tendu is amazing but definitely not the tendu of the 90s who can carry the batting on his own, Laxy is worldclass but again, not an alltime great who will be the bulwark of the middle order, big huge hole for a newbie to take Ganguly's spot and Dhoni is still to establish himself as a worldclass test batsman. In such a lineup, it makes more sense to presevere with Dravid and give him the opportunity to discover his form down the order ( particularly since it HAS WORKED IN THE PAST!!) than throwing yet another newbie in the mix. And clearly, Cheeka has a bit more brains than you, so his decision reflects my thinking- atleast partially.

I may perhaps have to concede to your superior analysis that Srikkanth is indeed brainless, maybe the fact I know him too well had clouded my judgment , so I defer to you.

LOL That was weak, vatz. And if you are willing to defer to a total stranger over the net in the process of forming an opinion over someone YOU know personally and I don't, clearly then, your social skills are shockingly poor and perhaps you should defer to me and a zillion others in anything but when to wipe your own @$$

[Guest HariSampath]

You must seek psychiatric attention CC...were you born this way, or it happened because of some life crisis...either way, I can only sympathise

[CC1981]

You must seek psychiatric attention CC...were you born this way, or it happened because of some life crisis...either way, I can only sympathise

Awwww...i am hurt...i am so hurt that i am contemplating self mutilation to ease the mental pain caused by a random unknown retard across the net...booo hooo...someone save me... :((:((:((:((

[SachDan]

Agree. The difference between them is that Dravid built himself up from a very good batsman into a great. Tendulkar was a class apart. He started the game with instincts few other batsmen have. He could read the length of the ball earlier than most, respond to any ball with a wider range of shots than most batsmen could, and could go as far as knowing what bowlers would do from time to time, prepare his shots and absolutely collar them like few others. Think of moments like his assault on Caddick in the 03 World Cup. Set him up, knew when he'd be banging it short - waited on the back foot for that ball, then launched it clean out of the ground in one of the most breathtaking bits of batting I've witnessed. In short, he was a genius. As Dravid's eyes and reflexes slowly deteriorate, his batting does too. With Tendulkar, even if his eyes and reflexes aren't what they were, he still has that absurd range of shots, the brains and a level of nous no other batsman of his time possesses that he can fall back upon to keep making runs.

Good post :hatsoff:

[Shehezaada]

Your questions are naive, lacking any decent understanding of cricket and ultimately irrelevant. For one, a 150 ball 50 can be either a total waste of time or an invaluable effort to save the game - even if it comes after 250-3 after 65 overs - what if thats the 2nd innings, India is nursing a 20 run 1st innings lead and its only the third day ? More than 'job done' IMO. Secondly, Dravid deserves the chance to rediscover his form at #5/6. When worldclass/great players go through a torrid time, it is stupid to say ' you are worldclass, so we expect better and will do everything to make life difficult for you' - what is far more logical is to try and make life EASIER for them, so that they can rediscover their form- as that would be well worth the effort. Thirdly, you can rant all you want - the precident is in my side : the last time Dravid went down to #5/6, he was going through a rough time at #3 and promptly rediscovered his form. And lastly, as i said earlier, trying to make Dravid's life easier for the next series or two makes helluva lot more sense than throwing in yet another newbie in the mix. As i said, our batting order is far stronger on paper than in reality : Veeru is amazing but will contribute in 1 out of 3-4 innings, Gambhir is anything but 'certainty' in the test side - though he is in the process of cementing his place, Tendu is amazing but definitely not the tendu of the 90s who can carry the batting on his own, Laxy is worldclass but again, not an alltime great who will be the bulwark of the middle order, big huge hole for a newbie to take Ganguly's spot and Dhoni is still to establish himself as a worldclass test batsman. In such a lineup, it makes more sense to presevere with Dravid and give him the opportunity to discover his form down the order ( particularly since it HAS WORKED IN THE PAST!!) than throwing yet another newbie in the mix. And clearly, Cheeka has a bit more brains than you, so his decision reflects my thinking- atleast partially. LOL That was weak, vatz. And if you are willing to defer to a total stranger over the net in the process of forming an opinion over someone YOU know personally and I don't, clearly then, your social skills are shockingly poor and perhaps you should defer to me and a zillion others in anything but when to wipe your own @$$

straight up. That's exactly what happened in the Australian series of 2001, Laxman and Dravid swapped batting places and all of a sudden Dravid just sprang back into form. why? Well he kept coming in good positions because India would be atleast 250 by the time he came to bat. Also batting at #6, or even 5 because Dada retired, he comes in when the bowlers are not as fresh. What CC is saying is right...let the man recover down the order where there's less to think about. Why put in TWO new guys in the lineup. That leaves a huge hole in the middle order. Dravid will come back. http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ranjisuperleague2008/content/story/378724.html

[Rajiv]

http://sports.in.msn.com/cricket/stories/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1699019 New Delhi: Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has extended support to his one-time deputy Rahul Dravid, who is going through a barren period, and said the cricketer will strike form in the upcoming two-Test series against England.

Someone call Gangs

[DomainK]

Dada to replace bejan daruwala.

[Guest Hiten.]

Dada scored 69 for Bengal. What a number,eh

[Dirty_South]

Dada scored 69 for Bengal. What a number' date='eh[/quote'] Without much Cricket.....that's his fav thingy nowadays :woot:

[fineleg]

Pic from Bengal vs Goa:

[Anakin]

Dada supporting RSD! Does that also make RSD a dirty politician?