Bring Dravid back to ODI squad: Akram

[Manny_Pacquiao]

draivd? LOL. no thanks. he isnt cut out for modern day ODI cricket. was a great player back in his day though.

[someone]

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

Haven't we been doing that since 2007 and have yet to find a settled good player.

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

That is a selection or politics/media problem. We can no nothing in deciding if he should be picked or dropped. But at least give him a chance as he is quality. And we still have plenty of available spots in our batting line up. If not first xi then definitely we need to improve our back up team with a better squad with the 15 in the world cup.

its in India,so dont worry about that.

There is a old story that when you lose, things which never happens, also starts happening. Think about it, example India bowls first, bowls terribly, we think it is because of the traditional indian flat pitch. But then India comes out batting, suddenly there is bounce, swing, and everything and ultimately we perform poorly with the bat ( this has happened a lot of times already). And it is not like suddenly the pitch has changed. And it is for those crucial moments where pressure is a lot, Dravid comes handy. Last IPL also showed the YP poor batting against short pitch bowling. So if the opponents has quality, everything can happen irrespective of the pitch

[vamos_rafa]

I feel if we go back to Dravid then it should not be a 1-2 series affair, like the Champions trophy last year. That would be nothing but an insult to the great man. Had the WC been in Aus or SA or Eng then bringingback Dravid would have been the ideal decision but since it is in India so those extra big hits do matter. Not that he is not capable of, in the last IPL and in some of the matches in this IPL as well he has proved that he 's capable of the big shots. Its like a catch 22 situation for the selectors. You bring him back you get solidity but compromise on fielding( We already have 3 pregnant uncles in our team namely UV,Nohit and Bhajji). But if we dont have him then we need to rely on flash in the pan types of youngsters. So it's gonaa be a tough decision. But i would still keep him in the mix of things for the next 6-8 months.

[someone]

I feel if we go back to Dravid then it should not be a 1-2 series affair, like the Champions trophy last year. That would be nothing but an insult to the great man. Had the WC been in Aus or SA or Eng then bringingback Dravid would have been the ideal decision but since it is in India so those extra big hits do matter. Not that he is not capable of, in the last IPL and in some of the matches in this IPL as well he has proved that he 's capable of the big shots. Its like a catch 22 situation for the selectors. You bring him back you get solidity but compromise on fielding( We already have 3 pregnant uncles in our team namely UV,Nohit and Bhajji). But if we dont have him then we need to rely on flash in the pan types of youngsters. So it's gonaa be a tough decision. But i would still keep him in the mix of things for the next 6-8 months.

As I said in the previous post. Stability is needed as we still have huge weakness in our batting technique and abilities in pressure situations. Dravid needs chances and I hope he gets them. You make it sound like Dravid cannot field, he is not the quickest but definately a good catcher of the ball as seen by his excellent fielding in the slips. And fielding should be regarded as a bonus not a major selection criteria.

[vamos_rafa]

As I said in the previous post. Stability is needed as we still have huge weakness in our batting technique and abilities in pressure situations. Dravid needs chances and I hope he gets them. You make it sound like Dravid cannot field, he is not the quickest but definately a good catcher of the ball as seen by his excellent fielding in the slips. And fielding should be regarded as a bonus not a major selection criteria.

I am not trying to say that he cant field. He's certainly one of the best slip catchers of all time. What I was trying to point out was that he is not the most agile of fielders so that way there would be a bit of disadvantage during : 1) Middle overs, when we need to stop the singles in the inner circle. And he does not have the strongest of arms to be standing at the boundary. 2) Death overs, when we need agile fielders to stop the boundary. But by no way am i trying to suggest that he should not be there.

[urbestfriend]

I'm sure Dravid is much better than some of the younger lot and he has lot to offer in ODI's. But selectors have taken a decision to select younger players in limited over format and it's not right to go back to Dravid at this juncture when there's hardly any time left for WC and it'd be a setback.

[saneindian]

We made a similar mistake before the 2006 WC. After losing in the Champions Trophy at home and then a few heavy losses in the ODIs in SA, Dada came back in the ODI team and the likes of Kaif and Raina were discarded. The next 2 series before the WC, SA and WI were played on flat tracks where dada had reasonable success. But that upset the entire plan of the team management , led to further issues in the dressing room, Sachin was forced to bat in the middle order (had Dada not been recalled, Sachin would still have been an opener). End result we got knocked out in the WC. So in effect recalling a senior player before the WC wasn't a very good idea backthen. Pakistan too had made a similar mistake of recalling Miandad for the 96 WC. Let's not repeat the same mistake. Recalling Dravid will upset the entire planning for the WC (e.g. where will Gambhir bat?). Also we have a good enough chance to win this cup now. We won the Asia cup with a young team. So why try to fix something which ain't broke. Having said that, if any of the senior players (Sachin, Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj) are unfit at the time of the world cup, Dravid will be a reliable option. But with a full strength team, Dravid IMO doesnt have a spot in the team (even if we struggle in SA ODIs).

[vamos_rafa]

^ Agreed to whatever you said about not repeating the same mistakes. But what if the senior players, that you named , get injured at a time which is closer to the WC?? Then if you bring back RD into the ODI squad, without many ODI's under his belt, then don't you think that is going to put more pressure? My only argument is if he is to be looked at then that needs to be done from now onwards so that he has a set role defined. His inclusion into the side should not be kneejerk reaction .

[someone]

We made a similar mistake before the 2006 WC. After losing in the Champions Trophy at home and then a few heavy losses in the ODIs in SA, Dada came back in the ODI team and the likes of Kaif and Raina were discarded. The next 2 series before the WC, SA and WI were played on flat tracks where dada had reasonable success. But that upset the entire plan of the team management , led to further issues in the dressing room, Sachin was forced to bat in the middle order (had Dada not been recalled, Sachin would still have been an opener). End result we got knocked out in the WC. So in effect recalling a senior player before the WC wasn't a very good idea backthen. Pakistan too had made a similar mistake of recalling Miandad for the 96 WC. Let's not repeat the same mistake. Recalling Dravid will upset the entire planning for the WC (e.g. where will Gambhir bat?). Also we have a good enough chance to win this cup now. We won the Asia cup with a young team. So why try to fix something which ain't broke. Having said that, if any of the snior players (Sachin, Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj) are unfot at the time of the world cup, Dravid will be a reliable option. But with a full strength team, Dravid IMO doesnt have a spot in the team (even if we struggle in SA ODIs).

u surely meant 2007 wc? Dravid is different from Ganguly case. One is a opener which is our strength in the past and even today. While the other one is a middle order batsman which is an unsolved puzzle at today. Dravid can bat at no.4 and wouldn't a line up of Sehwag, Sachin, Gautam, Dravid,Yuvi,Dhoni have a bit of everything with experience, aggression, good technique... all of which could be used in different situations. Dravid offers us a much needed good player with good technique.

[saneindian]

u surely meant 2007 wc? Dravid is different from Ganguly case. One is a opener which is our strength in the past and even today. While the other one is a middle order batsman which is an unsolved puzzle at today. Dravid can bat at no.4 and wouldn't a line up of Sehwag, Sachin, Gautam, Dravid,Yuvi,Dhoni have a bit of everything with experience, aggression, good technique... all of which could be used in different situations. Dravid offers us a much needed good player with good technique.

No Raina there? Thats unfair. Dravid has been a great servant , but he doesn't get ahead of Raina in that team. Raina's performance since his comeback 2 years ago, has been stupendous and it will be completely unjust to give his spot to Dravid. As I said if one out of Sachin, Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj etc are not fit, thats the only scenario Dravid comes into the picture to lend some experience. Also given that the WC will be played on flat tracks, raina in current form is a far better option than Dravid.

[someone]

No Raina there? Thats unfair. Dravid has been a great servant , but he doesn't get ahead of Raina in that team. Raina's performance since his comeback 2 years ago, has been stupendous and it will be completely unjust to give his spot to Dravid. As I said if one out of Sachin, Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj etc are not fit, thats the only scenario Dravid comes into the picture to lend some experience. Also given that the WC will be played on flat tracks, raina in current form is a far better option than Dravid.

That depends on what combination is played if 7 batsman Raina comes in. And the point is not that I am saying Dravid must be in our world cup team but rather Dravid should be in our world cup squad at least as he will improve our batting in many ways as explained before. And if you want to have some backup players in your squad, you need them to perform well and be given chances. Therefore, I hope Dravid is given.

[Lord]

Haven't we been doing that since 2007 and have yet to find a settled good player.

Raina is settled,so is Gambhir.the problem is we've been giving too many chances to someone like Rohit,who it is obvious cant improve much,we need to give others like Tiwary,Dhawan some chances

That is a selection or politics/media problem. We can no nothing in deciding if he should be picked or dropped. But at least give him a chance as he is quality. And we still have plenty of available spots in our batting line up. If not first xi then definitely we need to improve our back up team with a better squad with the 15 in the world cup.

u mean pick him the squad n then bench,sorry that'd be an insult to the great man.

There is a old story that when you lose, things which never happens, also starts happening. Think about it, example India bowls first, bowls terribly, we think it is because of the traditional indian flat pitch. But then India comes out batting, suddenly there is bounce, swing, and everything and ultimately we perform poorly with the bat ( this has happened a lot of times already). And it is not like suddenly the pitch has changed. And it is for those crucial moments where pressure is a lot, Dravid comes handy.

if India bowled terribly,it means we'll be chasing a huge target.Dravid isnt the best man for that. experience is handy but we already have that in SRT/Sehwag/UV.what we need is good young players who have big shots n cal field/run better

Last IPL also showed the YP poor batting against short pitch bowling. So if the opponents has quality, everything can happen irrespective of the pitch

last IPL was in SA,wasnt it?

[Thommo]

If there was ever a reason to drop Dravid from one-dayers, what was that? and why doesnt it hold good now? If we can answer these 2 questions, then we know whats the take on Dravid as far as WC-odis is concerned If Dravid is going to make the biggest difference between winning the wc and not winning it, then i wud say take him even at the expense of not playing a youngster with whom you have already invested couple of years or more...but is it so? Im not so sure on this one...

[someone]

Raina is settled,so is Gambhir.the problem is we've been giving too many chances to someone like Rohit,who it is obvious cant improve much,we need to give others like Tiwary,Dhawan some chances u mean pick him the squad n then bench,sorry that'd be an insult to the great man.

Your first point is fair enough. There is Raina who looks settled but who else? All other come in and out? And the next closest is Kolhi. So definitely room for improvement. And why is there a golden rule to give more youngsters a chance? There is one major problem for them and that is,there is very little time till the world cup. Preferably, give back some opportunities to those experienced players. The key is first to get him in the team and then see if he should be in the XI based on form and opponents. I am sure even Dravid would be very happy with that than rather not being any part of it.

if India bowled terribly,it means we'll be chasing a huge target.Dravid isnt the best man for that. experience is handy but we already have that in SRT/Sehwag/UV.what we need is good young players who have big shots n cal field/run better last IPL was in SA,wasnt it?

You just cannot have a team of aggressive batsman as you believe the opponents will score huge runs. There has to be a mixture and Dravid adds that a lot in the team. Dravid as mentioned will improve our stability and technique against short pitch bowling. Last IPL was in India. Forgot so quickly? But the point is like seen in IPL, if the bowlers are good enough and know the batsman weakness, they will get it right. And so I just do not want this to be another major competition where our batting lets us down due to our pathetic batting against short pitch stuffs.

[Lord]

Your first point is fair enough. There is Raina who looks settled but who else? All other come in and out? And the next closest is Kolhi. So definitely room for improvement. And why is there a golden rule to give more youngsters a chance? There is one major problem for them and that is' date='there is very little time till the world cup. Preferably, give back some opportunities to those experienced players.[/quote'] there isnt any golden rule like that,but youngsters are doing well in Indian.Kohli got a 100 v SL.give them time to mature.if it doesnt work out,we can even call up Dravid straight for the WC,knowing his class,he wont take too long to adapt

The key is first to get him in the team and then see if he should be in the XI based on form and opponents. I am sure even Dravid would be very happy with that than rather not being any part of it.

but wont Dhoni be almost forced to play Dravid if he is in the squad, since hes so senior?

You just cannot have a team of aggressive batsman as you believe the opponents will score huge runs. There has to be a mixture and Dravid adds that a lot in the team. Dravid as mentioned will improve our stability and technique against short pitch bowling.

yeah n Sachin n Dhoni provide that accumulating role.we cant have another one

Last IPL was in India. Forgot so quickly?

I suppose u r talking of this year's IPL.just checked the stats.Yusuf Pathan scored 333 runs in 14 games at an S/R of 165.Dravid with his experience n technique got 256 in 16 games at S/R of 128.yeah right

But the point is like seen in IPL, if the bowlers are good enough and know the batsman weakness, they will get it right. And so I just do not want this to be another major competition where our batting lets us down due to our pathetic batting against short pitch stuffs.

wont happen.only Raina really struggles against short pitch stuff.rest r fine

[someone]

there isnt any golden rule like that,but youngsters are doing well in Indian.Kohli got a 100 v SL.give them time to mature.if it doesnt work out,we can even call up Dravid straight for the WC,knowing his class,he wont take too long to adapt but wont Dhoni be almost forced to play Dravid if he is in the squad, since hes so senior?

Look I am not disagreeing with you but I would say it is better now with little time to world cup, that we cannot give and except any new youngsters to come and perform for 3-5 ODIs and automatically a place in WC Squad. So the squad has to be with those players who have already been established and yes Kohli is close, and should be in the squad. But similarly for Dravid, and one additional point, I would rather have him as our back up keeper than Dinesh atm. So Dravid should go if he is given his chance in the upcoming series and performs well. That really does not matter. Because at the end, if we win with Dravid in the team, me and you will be happy and if we lose, we all will be sad. Again our reaction will be based on hindsight.

yeah n Sachin n Dhoni provide that accumulating role.we cant have another one I suppose u r talking of this year's IPL.just checked the stats.Yusuf Pathan scored 333 runs in 14 games at an S/R of 165.Dravid with his experience n technique got 256 in 16 games at S/R of 128.yeah right wont happen.only Raina really struggles against short pitch stuff.rest r fine

Again you are making assumptions that we can only have/need 2 but not 3 doing the accumulating role. May I know what is the difference between 2 or 3 or how are you confident that we always need 2?. And last IPL would always be this year's IPL. And please do not comparing their t20 stats with ODIs as it mean nothing. But the point was YP struggled badly and only played well in his first match. Ask any IPL fan how much he struggled against the short pitch stuffs even in India. And maybe some of our players can play short pitch stuffs well, but they lack the mental attributes as they usually get hurt( lack of patience) by those opponents bowling bouncers and always to do something stupid to counter it and get out.

[gaurav92]

Dravid can't make it to my line up unless there is an injury to either of our top 3 (Sachin, Gambhir, Sehwag).Other than that i don't think its good to play him.

[Lord]

Look I am not disagreeing with you but I would say it is better now with little time to world cup' date=' that we cannot give and except any new youngsters to come and perform for 3-5 ODIs and automatically a place in WC Squad. So the squad has to be with those players who have already been established and yes Kohli is close, and should be in the squad. But similarly for Dravid, and one additional point, I would rather have him as our back up keeper than Dinesh atm. So Dravid should go if he is given his chance in the upcoming series and performs well.[/quote'] lol Dravid as WK?he was horrible wen he started got decent at best after regularly,certainly wont be great as backup keeper.I'd rather have Uthappa there as reserve WK if Karthik is failing our top 6 is decided anyway,so it makes sense to have a young player as backup who has done well.remember he cal also be used as a substitute fielder,u really dont want Dravid to do that job.

That really does not matter. Because at the end, if we win with Dravid in the team, me and you will be happy and if we lose, we all will be sad. Again our reaction will be based on hindsight.

yeah,but its all about giving the best chances.n I dont see Dravid making a difference

Again you are making assumptions that we can only have/need 2 but not 3 doing the accumulating role. May I know what is the difference between 2 or 3 or how are you confident that we always need 2?.

I forgot Gambhir.so thats 3 players who accumulate.thats more than enuf on flat decks of India

And last IPL would always be this year's IPL. And please do not comparing their t20 stats with ODIs as it mean nothing. But the point was YP struggled badly and only played well in his first match. Ask any IPL fan how much he struggled against the short pitch stuffs even in India. And maybe some of our players can play short pitch stuffs well, but they lack the mental attributes as they usually get hurt( lack of patience) by those opponents bowling bouncers and always to do something stupid to counter it and get out.

I put those stats to show how T20 performance cant be seen as indicators for ODIs as I said,only Raina struggles against short stuff.others are fine

[anish233]

Rahul Dravid does he deserve one last chance to play for India in ODI's... for the world cup?.. atleast a chance b4 the WC to see if he can get it done?. hes been looking in good form.. and i think we need that stability in the middle order for the WC.. dont hate on me, just sayin.. :)

[vamos_rafa]

Arrey yaar... there are innumerable threads for this.. This is the umpteenth time that someone has raised this issue (again!!!)