Checkmate
School Boy/Girl Captain
Agree with him, unfortunately.
Can see Steyn and co having the current Dravid for breakfast. It''d be a steep learning curve, but I think Pujara should be given the chance.
Agree with him, unfortunately.
With you on this one.Would play both Dravid and Pujara tbh. Raina just doesn't look test quality to me.
yup, though I will risk with Kohli the boy will be a star.Would play both Dravid and Pujara tbh. Raina just doesn't look test quality to me.
Looking at Gambhir playing these days I might classify him as a walking wicket too. He seems to be in terrible touch.Raina and Dhoni both to me look like walking wickets in South Africa.
True. In fact these days (I don't like using cliches but it fits the situation) he looks like a mere shadow of his former self just a year back.He's the biggest walking wicket in the Indian lineup right now.
I share the same views...When an older player is out of form, too often the question arises... "is he past it?"
However, if a player at 27 was producing the exact same results, they would just say 'Yeah, he's out of form"
I feel this to be unfair on the older players. As the old saying goes, form is temporary, class is permanent. Now, obviously players can't keep playing till they're 60 years old, but I feel players are being pushed out the door too early sometimes, when they have alot more to offer.
Yes, Dravid is out of form. But he has shown enough to prove he can come back. First innings he made a hundred. It wasn't fluent or convincing, but he managed it. A player that is past it, would not have been able to produce a century in international cricket against a good side.
He has the runs on the board to deserve at least another 4-5 test matches to try find some form. Fair enough, if at the end of the 4-5 test matches, he can't find form, then drop him. If he finds his form, leave him in.
It wasn't all that long ago that Tendulkar looked like he was coming to the end of his career, and now look at him. Better than ever (though the quality of bowling has something to do with this)
People write off the oldies far too quickly, and don't give them the opportunity that a younger batsman may be given. Dravid is a fit cricketer, who will not have any problems playing for a few more years if his form comes back. I have no doubt that it will.
There are 4 faults with this logic:When an older player is out of form, too often the question arises... "is he past it?"
However, if a player at 27 was producing the exact same results, they would just say 'Yeah, he's out of form"
I feel this to be unfair on the older players. As the old saying goes, form is temporary, class is permanent. Now, obviously players can't keep playing till they're 60 years old, but I feel players are being pushed out the door too early sometimes, when they have alot more to offer.
Yes, Dravid is out of form. But he has shown enough to prove he can come back. First innings he made a hundred. It wasn't fluent or convincing, but he managed it. A player that is past it, would not have been able to produce a century in international cricket against a good side.
He has the runs on the board to deserve at least another 4-5 test matches to try find some form. Fair enough, if at the end of the 4-5 test matches, he can't find form, then drop him. If he finds his form, leave him in.
It wasn't all that long ago that Tendulkar looked like he was coming to the end of his career, and now look at him. Better than ever (though the quality of bowling has something to do with this)
People write off the oldies far too quickly, and don't give them the opportunity that a younger batsman may be given. Dravid is a fit cricketer, who will not have any problems playing for a few more years if his form comes back. I have no doubt that it will.
a) Maybe another 2-3 years, maybe till the end of the inaugural test championship in 2013 or whatever that is. I back both Tendulkar and Dravid to play till that time.There are 4 faults with this logic:
a) Even if Dravid does return to form, how much more is he going to offer? another year? at best. Is it worth persisting through months of mediocrity to eventually get another year?
b) Its all fine and good to allow Dravid to continue if the quality of back up players weren't any good. But when you have prodigies lying in wait, it seems illogical to keep someone with not much of a future in the side.
c) Now is the best time to groom some of your younger players. While Sachin, Sehwag and Laxman are still playing at their top level. Throwing them into the deep end when all these 3(or 2/3) retire is a recipe for disaster.
d) Some of the younger players may miss out on the primes of their careers. Someone like Badrinath never got a shot at the international level, and given his age he probably wont get a shot either.
a/b) Think Dravid playing till 40 is a huge stretch, given how many batsmen have been able to do it over the last couple of decades. Its clearly obvious when you look at his record over the past 4 years that hes far from his best. Averaging 40 in the next 3 years in itself will be an accomplishment, and the odds are that Pujara or Kohli could very well at least match that.a) Maybe another 2-3 years, maybe till the end of the inaugural test championship in 2013 or whatever that is. I back both Tendulkar and Dravid to play till that time.
b) Same as a
c) Test cricket is not for grooming cricketers.
d) The only time I felt Badrinath deserved a go was after Ganguly retired and Yuvraj was persisted with for a little too long. That was a mistake the selectors made at that time. However, that story has zero correlation with the debate at hand.