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Rahul Dravid - What would you do? Is he still one of India's 6 best batsman?

Arjun

Cricketer Of The Year
An obvious option is Badrinath, as he's older, more seasoned and can handle a tough task. The same can't be said of Pujara, who looks vulnerable, and needs his senior teammates to play for him. That's a huge no-no against South Africa in South Africa.

Dravid, at the very least, can impart knowledge, and while the runs are not so abundant, he can hold the team together. There's nobody among the young brigade that can do the same. I'd say, hold on to him for the SA series, and then get in Badrinath. At the very least, he'll be the Darren Lehmann of the Indian side, though he can do well as a long-term player.
 

aussie

Hall of Fame Member
Yea i dont understand why Badrianth was axed. Looked very good as a test player vs SA earlier this year.
 

vic_orthdox

Global Moderator
Was going to post the following before the start of this innings in the current match:

Dravid has to play in SA I feel, still playing this close to the series. Ideally, if he was to have a replacement, they would have taken his place and played in this series, so that they had the chance to play against a reasonable quality attack at home. Then head overseas and play NZ, before taking on the Saffers. Now they're going to be thrown in the deep end too much, if they were to replace Dravid.

With Pujara batting at three in this match, it changes the dynamic a bit.
 

Shri

Mr. Glass
Good time for him to retire imo. Make Pujara a permanent fixture in the side and start to groom Rahane by keeping him in and around the national squad.
 

Cevno

Hall of Fame Member
In SA The games are likely to be on 250 is a good score wickets,so Dravid though he is not scoring big runs ,if he gets regular 30/40's can contribute a lot.

Would have him in that series instead of Raina tbh.
I can see both Raina and Dhoni struggling in South Africa and don't think we can carry both.
 

Prince EWS

Global Moderator
It all depends on how he does in SA IMO. He should definitely stay till then.
Yeah, seems to be the general consensus, and I agree. Dropping Dravid just before a tour of South Africa would be suicide; he has to play there. If he fails then though, he's gone IMO.
 

masterblaster

International Captain
Dravid's always been one of my favourite players and it's tough to see him not at his best. Lots of people were talking the same about Sachin a couple of years ago and look how well he has come back by producing some of the best cricket in his whole career.

I think Dravid after all that he has done for Indian Cricket needs to go out on his own terms. He shouldn't be pressured by the media or by the selectors. It's fantastic that we have the likes of Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara who have performed well waiting to create their own permanent spot in this Indian team. However both of these guys are young and aren't going anywhere.

When the time is right, I'm sure Dravid will know when it's time to retire. I think after all that he has given for Indian Cricket and after all his dedication and great performances he deserves to go out on his own terms. It would be fitting as he's had such a wonderful career and has given so much to Indian Cricket.
 

Uppercut

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Losing him for the South Africa tour would be a huuuge loss.

The rest of the time his technical ability has become somewhat obsolete. I'd estimate that Murali Vijay is more likely to score runs than Dravid on 90% of the pitches that India play on. It just doesn't make much sense to troop a particularly negative batsman in patchy form around the side for three years then drop him as soon as you arrive at a rare circumstance in which his technical perfection is worth something.
 

SJS

Hall of Fame Member
Dravid is NOT one of India's top six batsmen . . . . he is one of India's top three batsmen.
 

vcs

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Losing him for the South Africa tour would be a huuuge loss.

The rest of the time his technical ability has become somewhat obsolete. I'd estimate that Murali Vijay is more likely to score runs than Dravid on 90% of the pitches that India play on. It just doesn't make much sense to troop a particularly negative batsman in patchy form around the side for three years then drop him as soon as you arrive at a rare circumstance in which his technical perfection is worth something.
Technical flaws have crept into his batting FTR, the weakness against left-armer pacers and the ball going away in general has been noticeable recently.

In SA The games are likely to be on 250 is a good score wickets,so Dravid though he is not scoring big runs ,if he gets regular 30/40's can contribute a lot.

Would have him in that series instead of Raina tbh.
I can see both Raina and Dhoni struggling in South Africa and don't think we can carry both.
Agree with this, would be harsh on Raina as his fielding, occasional bowling and his personality is a big plus to have, but seems like a decent workaround. Would see how they all go in the warm-up games before making a decision as well.
 
India need Dravid in SA...badly.Dhoni,Raina and Gautam may be founding wanting on those pitches.Sehwag and Tendu are due a few failures given how phenomenal the year so far has been for them.Lax has injury issues...so unless Ind are willing to have Vijay,Pujari,Raina,Dhoni all together against Steyn in his yard,Dravid is a must.
 

Days of Grace

International Captain
Agreed that they need him in South Africa. NOT the place to blood a young batsman. After that, give him a farewell series in India. Not sure who the opponent is, though.
 

weldone

Hall of Fame Member
Dravid is NOT one of India's top six batsmen . . . . he is one of India's top three batsmen.
Oh SJS, it seems you are running through a bad form like Dravid :)

Rahul Dravid is one of India's top 2 batsmen probably, on class. But on form, there are at least 3 players who are certainly better than him - Tendulkar, Sehwag and Laxman. And, I hope this thread is about form.
 

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