Since giving up captaincy, Rahul Dravid has suffered a slump in form from which he is yet to recover. Experts say it’s all in the mind of the former India captain.
BANGALORE: Rahul Dravid went missing while India accomplished one of its finest run chases against England on Sunday. Virender Sehwag had set up the run-chase on the fourth evening with a blitzkrieg.
Dravid came in at No.3, a position from which alone he has made nearly 8,000 runs and scored 19 centuries. Romantics would have hoped for a dogged innings from the man whose wicket was the most prized possession in world cricket not long ago.
Dravid didn’t last long. He left the arena sullen and distraught. This wasn’t to be the one good knock many believed he required to invigorate his mind and lift up his spirits. It’s still in the realm of speculation if Dravid will continue to bat at No.3 at Mohali. The best of the best have had their worst phases and Dravid is not the first nor will he be the last.
However, this prolonged slump in form, dour body language and wavering spirit have been more pronounced since he stepped down from captaincy. He was subsequently dropped from the ODI side and that has added to grim picture being painted about him.
Since April, Dravid has made just 342 runs in 10 Tests, a lean patch similar to those some of the greats of the game have experienced. Steve Waugh made 342 runs in nine months beginning November 2001. Between February and November this year, South Africa’s bulwark Jacques Kallis has managed to contribute with just 363 over 10 Tests.
Some believe Dravid must quit, irrespective of the number of runs he scores, other pundits believe he must opt for a break and comeback refreshed before India proceed to New Zealand. Whichever way, Mohali could be the defining five days of Dravid’s career.
Syed Kirmani, Dravid’s first skipper when he made his debut for Karnataka, believes that Dravid is stuck because he is thinking too much about each failure. “I know he is a guy who tends to brood when things go wrong. He dwells deeply into what went wrong and why it went wrong. I met him when he was in Bangalore when he was omitted from the ODI squad and took the opportunity to tell him to relax and not take the game too seriously beyond a point.”
“For someone of the class of Rahul Dravid, this slump in form has been too long. There could be too many things playing on his mind and a combination of factors affecting him. He should stop worrying so much. Rahul must relax and remember that cricket is a simple game,” Kirmani told DNA.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}