On the crucial day when the World Cup squad is to be announced in Mumbai, Rahul Dravid will also have to explain his outburst against Chetan Desai.
RAJKOT: On the crucial day when the World Cup squad is to be announced in Mumbai on Monday, Rahul Dravid, the Indian skipper, will also have to explain his outburst against Chetan Desai.
The South African (Tests) tour manager’s report questioned the attitude of Virender Sehwag and also said that Dravid’s insistence on certain selection matters cost India the Test series.
On Friday, the BCCI said it would seek an explanation from Dravid for his outburst aimed at Desai.
In Rajkot, on Saturday, Dravid put up a brave face and said he would only be too happy to make his stand clear if and when the BCCI sought an explanation from him. “If I am asked for an explanation then I will give it to the Board. It is not an worry for me right now,” Dravid said.
BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah was also seen having a discussion with Dravid. Shah, however, said a formal explanation will be sought from the Indian skipper on February 12. “We don’t want any controversy to linger on. There is the World Cup next month and the team must focus on playing well. Everything will be fine,” Shah said.
However, the BCCI secretary reiterated that a manager on a tour need not be a former cricketer but has to be a good administrator and that Desai was qualified enough to submit a report. The Indian skipper had said it Kolkata that he would react “only when it (report) is worthy of my comment.”
He had also said that “when I last looked at the history of Indian cricket I did not see his (Desai) name feature very prominently”.
On Saturday, though, Dravid tried to douse the flames.
“Controversy is part and parcel of being a cricketer in India. Over the past three years there has never been a time when there has been no controversy. There is a lot of interest regarding cricket, there is lot of speculation and there is a lot of talk, there will be and we will not be able to change that,” he said.
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