WC 2011 : Is Dravid In Or Out?

Rahul Dravid in full flow

As the BCCI Selection Committee is carrying out experiments to preparea good team for the upcoming World Cup(W.C), one name is being debated upon every now and then. The name is none other than “Rahul Dravid“.

Rahul Dravid Played his last ODI in Johannesburg against the Windies in 2009. He scored just 4 runs in the match. He was also a part of the CompaqCup in Sri Lanka. He didn’t do too well in the first match but scored a quick 47 and a good 39 in the second and third matches. And who can forget the brilliant 76 he made against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy. India lost the match but if he hadn’t scored that knock, the Indian fans would have had no hope.

Dravid was in horrible form in September 2007 and was chucked out of the team immediately after India’s 4-2 loss to the Aussies in the 7 match series. But not including him for two years was not right.

He scored good knocks in Tests at regular intervals but also failed to make his knocks as big as he should have. But he regained his form against England and them made a good comeback in the series against the Kiwis. Though he himself admitted that he was not a T20 player he saved his team from dangerous situations by scoring good knocks in the IPL2. He then continued to play Ranji and did quite well. after which he played two brilliant knocks against Sri Lanka. One of them was a match saving one and the other helped in piling up a big score in front of the Lankans. He did well against the Bangladeshi minnows but unfortunately injured hs jaw and had to be dropped from the squad for sometime. He came back in the IPL 4 and played a few good knocks. He then failed to show his magic in Sri Lanka but played agood knock in the Champions League. But then was the time when he knew that he had to do well. He started off by playing one good knock against the Aussies and them smashing two tons against the Kiwis. Now he is waiting to play in South Africa and is trying to adapt to the conditions there.

But coming back to the main point, is he is or is he out? He was included in the 30 probables for the Compaq Cup and the Champions Trophy. at that time our key players were ready for the fight but unfortunately Sehwag got injured and Dravid was give a chance to play.

But why was he included in the probables if Sehwag too was included? The answer to that according to me is, that the Selection Committee wanted a man who could hold the innings together at difficult times. And that’s what he did in the match against Pakistan. But he was dropped after that because the Selection Committee had no room for the recovering Sehwag.

But as mentioned above he has been doing well in the recent past and his capability to hold the innings together is always a there, so he should be considered as a good player if not as a key player.

But on the other hand the his policy of playing safely when there is a need to attack is wrong and needs to be analyzed. But when there are good players playing already and dominating other teams, how can we have room for Dravid? What can be done? all depends on the selection Committe and the Captain. But one thing should be kept in mind, and that is that there is not much scope for mistakes in the World Cup. Once past the group stages, teams can’t afford to lose a single match.

Best of Luck Dravid! Best of Luck team India!