Dravid should step out...

Hi,

Dravid's decisions have so far been pathetic to say the least about them. To start with, his decision to not enforce follow on in the Oval Test was one of the worst and most timid decisions taken by any captain of any national cricket team. What kind of message are you sending across to your players and your nation? That you can't even take a gamble to increase your lead in the test series? It all reflects the attitude of the India batsmen. Indian batsmen have long forgotten their natural game and are just playing to satisfy their critics. Sachin no longer would clear the field in the initial Powerplay overs as he is afraid that the moron sports news reader of some stupid channel 'Aaj Kal' or whatever would term it as lack of responsibility on his part. Saurav only plays to stay long enough at crease because he wants to re-cement his place in the team. Although Dravid cannot be blamed completely for the batsmen's attitude, his decisions reflect the insecurities of the Indian batting line-up. They all know they were stars at a certain point of time and the public expectations of their performance are huge. That is the very reason why they do not want to take any risks and play their natural instinctive game.

The bowling department's attitude is even worse. They know that the media, the fans and everyone know the lack of discipline of Indian bowlers and so they do not want to try anything new. They have got used to the blasting they receive after every defeat of the Indian cricket team. Instead of trying to rise to the levels of the International best bowlers, they keep getting satisfied with the fact that they are better than other Indian bowlers. That way, Kapil Dev, according to me was a great bowler. He always set his own standards and tried to better them every time. Indian bowling department has never recovered after the departure of the likes of Bedi, Prasanna, Kapil Dev and others. Javagal Srinath had always been a moderate bowler who would do nothing spectacular but would do enough to avoid any blame.

Are we playing cricket to avoid blame game? Do we not have a dream as a nation - to win the world cup, to be the best team in the world. Anyways, coming back to Dravid's case, his decision to field first with a team whose batsmen shivered to the likes of Anderson, Stuart Broad and who else (I can't even remember the names of some of those inexperienced bowlers). How could such batsmen have chased any total? And the worst part is his defense at the end of the match. He blames it all on the bowlers and the fielders. Well, if that department has been crippled for a decade now, as a captain you could have taken a decision that would help India win. Dravid still is a good Test captain inspite of his bad decision at Oval. He has the stature to lead the team through tough times and the determination to get the best performance out in trying conditions. In ODIs, India needs a more agile captain with a quick thinking brain under his hat.