Bring Dravid back to ODI squad: Akram

[Punisher]

Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram is off the opinion that senior batsman Rahul Dravid should be recalled to India's ODI squad since he still has a lot to offer in the 50-over format. "Dravid still has a lot to offer in ODIs. I believe that Dravid should be brought back into the (one-day) team. In the sub-continent, the current batsmen can do well, but on the overseas tours, India need a solid and experienced batsman like Dravid," Akram said. Akram also was not happy with the current bowling line-up of the Indian team. When asked about his reported comments that some of the India players were "softies and lazy", the former left-arm pacer said, "I was not talking about the whole team. I was only talking about the bowlers." "Look at Munaf Patel, Sreesanth, Irfan Pathan and RP Singh. They were all very promising in the beginning. They had everything a bowler needs. Now you look at them. They have waned, for reasons beyond me," Akram told espnstar.com. The cricketer-turned-commentator was also forthright on with his opinion on the surfeit of India versus Sri Lanka series. "There is a series between these two teams every two months. It is very natural that the Indian players have lost interest in the contests. I am sure the same is the case with the Sri Lankan cricketers," he said. "The Indian players are in the habit of playing in front of more or less 60,000 people and now they are playing amidst almost empty stands. "Obviously, their performance will get affected. They are a top team in both Tests and ODIs and only too much cricket is their undoing at the moment," he added. © Cricbuzz

[hitman1980]

We are not pakis .. our younger boys r capable of performing .. 1 bad series doesn't mean they belong to same category as paki players ...

[Asim]

We are not pakis .. our younger boys r capable of performing .. 1 bad series doesn't mean they belong to same category as paki players ...

thats the spirit :two_thumbs_up: (or over confidence may be)

[rahulrulezz]

Yes Mr.Akram is right bou attitude of our younger players but Dravidi had his fair number of chances in 1999 2003 2007and he is not the same player what he was in early 2000s which reflects in his test form and decling batting average

[Lord]

dont think he fits in top 6 n no.7 would be an insult to him so,no we dont need him

[zen]

One has to see how Dravid's form is comprted to some of the other guys like Kohli, Uthappa, Karthik, Rohit, Nayar, etc. Let's say we have 8 batsmen in the squad, the following select themselves: 1. Tendulkar 2. Sehag 3. Gambhir 4. Dhoni 5. Raina 6. Yuvraj we still have two positions open and if Dravid is playing well at the time of world cup, it is not a bad idea to consider him, esp if he can take the #4 spot (which is still a weak spot for Ind) w/ Ind playing 7 batsmen in the 11.

[someone]

I would have him in a heartbeat. He adds that much need stability in our batting line up and is very experienced who can handle the mental pressure for the world cup.

[Homerus_Unus]

We are not pakis .. our younger boys r capable of performing .. 1 bad series doesn't mean they belong to same category as paki players ...

Sure...blaming another team makes our issues vanish. Right? Seriously, don't you think our bowling squad has experienced a consistency-issue lately with respect to a stable line-up- especially our pace attack?

[saneindian]

In this tournament not too many batsman have been successfull. Only those with considerable intenrational experience, the likes of Sehwag, Dilshan, Taylor and Styring have put in a performance each. Yes the way our youngsters have gifted their wickets is disappointing, but they should not be written off on the basis of this performance. Plus assuming our young batsmen continue to struggle in these bowler friendly conditions, even then we need to be patient. We must remember that even with a Ganguly and Dravid we did have our own struggles in the away series in SA, NZ, Aus between 1996-00. But we were patient with them then and the results started coming in after sometime. Same will be with these guys. expect 1-2 of them to start delivering soon. a DK who did so well in SA and Eng as an opener cannot become crap after 4 bad performances.

[rahulrulezz]

I would have him in a heartbeat. He adds that much need stability in our batting line up and is very experienced who can handle the mental pressure for the world cup.

Yeah we all saw that in 2007 worldcup where we did't even qualify for 2nd round loosin to Bangladesh. Dravid was captain of that team. Lol talking about handling the mental pressure of the worldcup

[bear23]

completely disagree. I would let Dravid find good form in the test matches. Let pakistanis recall younis yousof and saeed anwar . :haha:

[Lord]

I would have him in a heartbeat. He adds that much need stability in our batting line up and is very experienced who can handle the mental pressure for the world cup.

Hes looking out of touch in Tests too,why bring him back for ODIs?

[Ram]

They obviously made a philosophical decision to stick with the young guns and drop the older players, after the 2007 home series loss against Australia. Keep in mind that back then, guys like Ganguly and Dravid were still performing reasonably well (in fact that series was probably Dravid’s first ODI series in a long time that he failed contribute with the bat at all..). Then came the T20 WC debacle in England, when we were duly bounced out and there were calls for guys like Dravid to come back (who did his chances no harm by top-scoring for BRC in IPL that year..) They bought Dravid back, but it was obvious that they weren’t sure where to fit him, in the middle order. Looks like they have settled on the young trio of Rohit-Karthik-Kohli, no matter what happens. But its about time we gave Saurabh Tiwary an extended run in the side.

[someone]

Hes looking out of touch in Tests too' date='why bring him back for ODIs?[/quote'] Simple answer, Form is temporary, class is permanent. Even in tests, he was never troubled but it was his own mistakes rather. And do not relate tests, odis, t20s with each other.

[Lord]

Simple answer, Form is temporary, class is permanent. Even in tests, he was never troubled but it was his own mistakes rather. And do not relate tests, odis, t20s with each other.

I'm not doubting his class,but bringing him back would be a risk,why not do that with young guns?atleast they can run n field better we do need to get rid of Rohit n Jadeja though n replace them ith other youngsters

[sudheer kumar]

Dravid...........................? Good player in sub-continent......... Nice records he has........... there is one spot is empty in batting line-up now. can selectors consider him at-least in WC probables?

[someone]

I'm not doubting his class,but bringing him back would be a risk,why not do that with young guns?atleast they can run n field better we do need to get rid of Rohit n Jadeja though n replace them ith other youngsters

Risk is everywhere so you really cannot run away from it. The thing is not like if I am asking Dravid to be in the WC squad. Give him a chance against Australia or New Zealand odi series. And then maybe we can see... Those young guns have not exactly fulfilled their expectations. And one more point, I do not want it to be another tournament where our team fails because of short pitch bowling. So Dravid deserves it due to his ability and his great attitude along with his lot of experience.

[sudheer kumar]

Risk is everywhere so you really cannot run away from it. The thing is not like if I am asking Dravid to be in the WC squad. Give him a chance against Australia or New Zealand odi series. And then maybe we can see... Those young guns have not exactly fulfilled their expectations. And one more point, I do not want it to be another tournament where our team fails because of short pitch bowling. So Dravid deserves it due to his ability and his great attitude along with his lot of experience.

Good Idea...........

[Lord]

Risk is everywhere so you really cannot run away from it.

then why not take the risks with youngsters who have a future ahead of them

The thing is not like if I am asking Dravid to be in the WC squad. Give him a chance against Australia or New Zealand odi series. And then maybe we can see...

most likely u will see him scoring,but also young guys like Kohli scoring n trumping him in regards to S/R/then what?the same happened after T20 WC 2009.u dont wanna insult a legend by picking n dropping him again n again

Those young guns have not exactly fulfilled their expectations. And one more point, I do not want it to be another tournament where our team fails because of short pitch bowling. So Dravid deserves it due to his ability and his great attitude along with his lot of experience.

its in India,so dont worry about that.

[coffee_rules]

I would rather have Uthaappa or Pujara.