Rahul Dravid on Saturday conveyed a strong message to his under-performing teammates ahead of their must-win Champions Trophy tie against Australia.
MOHALI: Under pressure after a string of indifferent shows, Indian captain Rahul Dravid on Saturday conveyed a strong message to his under-performing teammates ahead of their must-win Champions Trophy tie against Australia, saying no amount of strategies and gameplans would help unless key players delivered goods.
Dravid admitted that his established batsmen have not been able to fire while there were several grey areas that the team had to rectify to make progress in the tournament.
"You may draw up any number of strategies and gameplans but at the end of the day cricket matches are won by people who perform and it is performances which matter," Dravid said on the eve of the match against world champions Australia that will determine the second semifinalist from Group A.
He stressed that it was not that the batsmen were taking their poor run casually.
"They have been practicing hard in the nets and we have discussed it. But somehow the results have not come. We have drawn positives from the last game, but we have to be consistent right through the game," he said.
"We need to win the key moments of the game. There are critical moments in the game when we need to perform well and be counted," he said.
On whether opener Virender Sehwag needed to be given a break to rediscover form, Dravid said he did not want to talk about individuals and it was batting as a unit which has to do well and click.
"There will be opinions. Some will say Sehwag has been given more chances while some will say he still needs some chances. I would say that Yuvraj, Raina, Sachin and myself and the batting unit taken together will have to perform," Dravid said.
He said he knew that he himself needs to put runs on the board and get into form.
"It is not that I am the team captain which bothers me when I don't get runs. I used to be disappointed even as a player when I got out early," he said in response to a question on whether batting failures around him puts pressure on his batting.
The 33-year-old batsman said there was no set formula to help players not doing well.
"Someone may say you give them break while others may say keep them in the team and they will do better. There is no set rule about this," he said.
On whether it was proper to keep experimenting by sending all-rounder Irfan Pathan at the number 3 position on a regular basis, he said, "People are entitled to have their opinions."
He said it was the team management's conscious decision to go with five bowlers and the team had even made a record while chasing targets by sticking to this combination.
Dravid, however, said the team keeps on reviewing things.
"If things work, it is fine, if not we will have to review it," he said, referring to Pathan's coming in at number three.
He said that losing games by the team was not a "nice feeling", but stressed that "we haven't changed too much since the time we were performing and winning. Some of our key players are not performing."
On whether swashbuckling batsman MS Dhoni could be compared with the likes of Australian Adam Gilchrist, Dravid said the Indian player had the ability, but a comparison can only be drawn if he keeps performing consistently over seven to eight years.
On Sunday's crunch match, he said he regarded Australia as a good side, but other teams too had been pushing them and getting close to them.
He said he had been telling young teammates to enjoy pressure conditions and treat the games being played in this tournament "as an opportunity to succeed and stamp their authority."
Dravid did not agree that there will be added pressure on the team simply because it was playing at home. "Both teams will be under pressure. It will be equal as both sides are locked in a do-or-die contest as the winner will qualify for the semifinals."
The Indian captain did not want to hazard a guess on what would be a safe total on the Mohali track, but said if they bat first 250 plus target would be important.
On whether the team was thinking much about the dew factor, he said he had seen how the South Africans had utilized bowling second against Pakistan to their advantage.
He said the Mohali wickets are known for their bounce, but it was the seam as seen in Saturday's match between South Africa and Pakistan that the team will have to watch out for on Sunday.
He stressed it was playing good cricket which will help them "irrespective of conditions."
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