Should Rahul Dravid retire now???

[punjabi_khota]

He cannot be relied as "THE WALL" anymore, but he is in the team as one of the 6 batsmen, and doing his job well. Basically, we can't assume him to be the bedrock of the Indian batting anymore but he can still deliver the goods more often than not.

[Karan114]

Echo this sentiment. In fact, I think all the biggest Dravid fans here including yoda, beetle, fineleg and I would be feeling the same. I think RD should have retired/been dropped a long time ago. He has lost his footwork and patience. It just hurts when he cant score in important situations like the 4th innings today. His 4th innings has dropped big time now. He just cant get it done anymore :( :( We can still enjoy him in mindless 20-20s :)

But who are we going to replace him with? Yuvi couldn't even succeed at no.6, Raina has begun well but as his akward dismissal today showed he can't bat above 5 even in the subcontinent leave alone outside. Kohli looks good but he needs to be eased in to the side lower down the order, not put in at no.3 straightaway. Same applies to Pujara, in fact moreso because we haven't seen him up against international quality bowling and pressure so don't know how good he really is. The only other option is to promote VVS at 3 and play two youngsters at 5 and 6 (though that again is risky if you have two newbies at 5 and 6 given that Dhoni's form has not been great at 7 lately). Of course it is a different matter that we would like to remember Rahul as the magnificent batsman he was at his peak. But ultimately the question is whether there is someone better than him? To my mind, no, certainly not at 3.

[maddydravid]

Greatest joke Dravid should retire.He is the true god of cricket.there is no player to match him.Even sachin is not better than dravid.so shut up!!!

[Andy]

Greatest joke Dravid should retire.He is the true god of cricket.there is no player to match him.Even sachin is not better than dravid.so shut up!!!

:hysterical::hysterical::hysterical::hysterical:

[don_corleone840]

Time for him to say bye bye to cricket instead of watching his average droping below 50(which i would hate to see ).i am his big fan but seriously he is no more "the wall".He is no more reliable.He is 38 and i dont want to see him in SA tour.

[spectre]

Have to agree with this. He still merits his place in the team though

He cannot be relied as "THE WALL" anymore' date=' but he is in the team as one of the 6 batsmen, and doing his job well. Basically, we can't assume him to be the bedrock of the Indian batting anymore but he can still deliver the goods more often than not.[/quote']

[bunny]

But who are we going to replace him with? Yuvi couldn't even succeed at no.6, Raina has begun well but as his akward dismissal today showed he can't bat above 5 even in the subcontinent leave alone outside. Kohli looks good but he needs to be eased in to the side lower down the order, not put in at no.3 straightaway. Same applies to Pujara, in fact moreso because we haven't seen him up against international quality bowling and pressure so don't know how good he really is. The only other option is to promote VVS at 3 and play two youngsters at 5 and 6 (though that again is risky if you have two newbies at 5 and 6 given that Dhoni's form has not been great at 7 lately). Of course it is a different matter that we would like to remember Rahul as the magnificent batsman he was at his peak. But ultimately the question is whether there is someone better than him? To my mind, no, certainly not at 3.

The first thing would be to have Laxman bat at #3, and Dravid at #5/#6. If he is having trouble, then I'd say that we should replace him with Murali Vijay. I am sure that Pujara and Kohli dont have the talent to succeed at test level, but Vijay should come good if given opportunities. So might Rohit Sharma but I'd be afraid to blood him right now.

[Hindustani]

in Aus/SA/NZ/Eng pitches, you need Rahul Dravid and I still feels he has couple of years left in him though time to groom Kohli for #3, that guy looks technically sound (or Murli vijay or pujara)

[King Tendulkar]

The first thing would be to have Laxman bat at #3' date=' and Dravid at #5/#6.[b'] If he is having trouble, then I'd say that we should replace him with Murali Vijay. I am sure that Pujara and Kohli dont have the talent to succeed at test level, but Vijay should come good if given opportunities. So might Rohit Sharma but I'd be afraid to blood him right now.

Did you watch his 1st innings?

[Lord]

wth,did u guys watch 1st innings,made 71 n looked as fluent as ever,maybe hes not as good as before,but I'm sure hes still better than Pujara's n Sharma's being discussed here

[Andy]

wth' date='did u guys watch 1st innings,made 71 n looked as fluent as ever,maybe hes not as good as before,but I'm sure hes still better than Pujara's n[b'] Sharma's being discussed here

Sarcasm brah!

[Lord]

Sarcasm brah!

meant Ishant:winky:

[VRV Singh]

I see a fair few posts calling for him to be replaced but there's hardly a unanimous call for one player to replace him! Kohli, Pujara, Rohit, Vijay just some of the names mentioned. I could understand it if someone stood out. But all there is is endless throwing about of potential names who have hardly proven their worth as better bets than RD at this moment

[bunny]

Did you watch his 1st innings?

Yes I did, and he was struggling a bit against Hilfenhaus. He looked ok, nothing great. Anyway, I am done with the thread. I've said what I wanted to :)

[don_corleone840]

wow another heroic innings by dravid

[Sachinism]

The worry with Dravid is that he's getting out the same way every time he comes out to bat

[HowardRoark]

Dravid himself is the best person to decide if he still has the reflexes and hunger to perform to the standards he has set in the past. Hope he does some honest introspection and makes a good decision, either way.

[Hindustani]

If M Vijay and others deliver, it may be curtains for dravid though I feels he still has the ability to deliver but so did Dada and kumble, one day you have to retire to make space for youngsters

[yoda]

This is the problem with bumps. One guy (King Tendulkar) bumps a thread after 2 months to chest thump after Dravid scores and another guy bumps it promptly after he fails.

[philcric]

Dravid last 4 years Matches: 40 Runs: 2532 Hundreds: 6 Average: 38.36 And this during a period of time when everyone else around him (Sehwag, Gambhir, Tendulkar, Laxman) comfortably averaged 50+. I think even Dhoni at #7 averages 40+. Though stats aren't be all and end all, they do give good indication over such a long period of time.