Missing: India's Spinning Reserves

Just two years ago, we had Harbhajan Singh & Pragyan Ojha doing a fine job for the test team. ODI team was managing well with Harbhajan Singh as the main spinner and Jadeja, Raina, Yuvraj rolling their arm over. Ashwin was amongst the front runners to win a spot in the Indian team with fine variations and a big heart. Piyush Chawla & Amit Mishra were still in the running for a spot in the team. Much of that has now changed. Let's see how.

Back in the present, Harbhajan has lost much of the guile that made him dangerous. Saying he is now a better batsman than an off spin bowler would be exaggerating it, but wouldn't be far from the truth. Not having played for the national team for almost 10 months now must be hitting him hard. His performance at the domestic level and IPL hasn't been anything to gloat over either. Ashwin, after a bright beginning to his ODI, Test career seems to have hit a point where he looks clueless while bowling on unhelpful pitches. He struggled in Australia and was back to bowling effectively in the Asia Cup in Bangladesh. Ashwin's stuggles were evident as Indian bowling attack looked one dimensional in Australia, in tests especially. Pragyan Ojha bowled exceptionally well in home conditions against West Indies and is expected to play an important role in the upcoming season against the visiting Kiwis and English. Amit Mishra & Piyush Chawla has effectively fallen off the selectors' radar. Mishra's tendency to over step surely a dampener. Piyush Chawla's over reliance on his googly, usage of that as his stock ball and lack of any other variety makes him predictable and easily flayable. Rahul Sharma is an addition to the list of talented spinners in the last 12 odd months. In the few opportunities he's got, he has bowled effectively. With experience, he can only get better. But who else does the Indian domestic circuit have to offer as replacement?

Once in surplus, spinners in Indian domestic cricket have diminished. All we find are left arm spinners in abundance. All the exciting talents in the spin bowling departments are left arm spinners. Iqbal Abdullah, Pawan Negi, Shahbaz Nadeem, Akshay Darekar make up that list.  Where did the good old offie go? Post Mishra, Chawla, Rahul Sharma we haven't witnessed an exciting young leggie either. Is the modern version of 'wham-boom' cricket turning youngsters away from spin bowling at the fear of being hit out of the park at every given opportunity? Spinners increasingly have begun to use yorkers to get back at the batsmen and not the traditional well flighted ball for deception in flight. Spin was once all about defeating the batsmen with guile and not a yorker or physical intimidation which was the pace bowlers' trait. 

The better spinners around the world today; Saeed Ajmal, Daniel Vettori & Graeme Swann to name a few have depended on their ability to think the batsmen out. Ashwin who started his career doing that, has now taken a step back being defensive in his ideas. Young spinners need constant guidance from seniors. Who better than a Kumble for India to take up the mantle? BCCI on its part must get the likes of Hirwani, Bahutule, Raju to impart their experiences and drill into youngsters the importance of good old drift and flight in their plan to counter the batsman's advances. Can only then hope, we have a happy selection confusion in the spin department. 

Bench Strength. What? Where?

India's test batting woes aren't soon going to end, if the India 'A' team's performance in the Caribbean is anything to go by. Except Pujara, and Rohit Sharma on one occasion, other batsmen just failed to get going against a persistent and hard working West Indies 'A' bowling attack. IPL successes for Rahane & Dhawan didn't seem to count for much as both failed to the capitalize on the golden opportunity. As has been the case lately, consistency seems to elude Rohit Sharma. After a 94 in the first innings of the series, all he could accumulate was 51 runs in the next 5 innings. Manoj Tiwary too couldnt set the stage on fire and only scored one half century in 6 innings. Unimpressive for two of India's brightest young talents. Pujara on the other end was the only one to keep Indian hopes high with stroke filled, patient 252 runs in six innings, also top scoring with a 96*. Wriddhiman Saha gave a good account of himself with two half centuries. Still needs to exude confidence to be the next best wicket keeper batsman in the country after Dhoni.

What this three test series has done is push Pujara way ahead of Manoj Tiwary, Rohit Sharma & Ajinkya Rahane in the running for the replacement for Dravid in the test side. Pujara will be the front runner to take over the no 3 position left vacant by Rahul Dravid. With not more than one season of test cricket left for Tendulkar & Laxman (assumption), India need strong replacements. At this point in time, no one from the younger, inexperienced lot look capable of playing quality pacemen in overseas pitches. If the same two teams clashed in Indian conditions, the results would have been the other way round. That said, Indian bowlers performed admirably while compared to their bat wielding colleagues. Shami Ahmed stood out with 13 wickets from the series. Left arm spinner Akshay Darekar six wicket haul was India's  only 5+ wicket haul in the series whilst the West Indies had five of them. 

Argument could again lead to blaming IPL for everything thats gone wrong with our players' ability to survive test match cricket. But it isn't entirely misplaced. Rahane, Rohit & Dhawan's prolific scores in the IPL or Rahul Sharma & Awana's successes didn't get translated into good performances in tests. Bowlers are still fighting it hard and Shami Ahmed, Dinda, Bhuwaneshwar Kumar and Awana didnt passably well. India surely are going to find it tough to replace Dravid, Tendulkar & Laxman in tests overseas unless there is a radical change in how the BCCI treats younger players. Regular overseas trip a must. Under 19 teams must have camps held in South Africa, England and Australia. Add Robin Bist, Mayank Aggarwal, Suryakumar Yadav, Mandeep Singh & Unmukt Chand to the list of prospective future Indian players, we have an impressive list on paper. On overseas, it would again be the case of paper tigers. 


But for now, can't wait for Pujara to take over Dravid's role and play alongside the stalwarts & Kohli and start laying the foundation for the next gen which will take over in a matter of few years.

Make Way, Virat's Here!

When he walked in to bat at Hobart, Indian team was precariously placed at 86 for 2 chasing 320 off 40 overs to win a bonus point and stay alive in the CB Series. He had already made a name for himself by then. With eight hundreds in his kitty in ODIs and his maiden test hundred coming against Australia a month back in Brisbane. Much was expected of him at Hobart. He was expected to support Gambhir and ensure India at least made a fight of it. He did just that and more. He smashed one of the most brutal centuries seen in recent times baring Watson's 185 against Bangladesh. He carted Lasith Malinga for 24 off an over. He scored 133 off 86 balls and India defeated Sri Lanka well within 40 overs and earned the bonus point. Though India got eliminated as Lanka trounced Australia in the following game, India had earned some pride from Kohli's knock and the resultant victory. Things around him began to change. He was named vice captain of the Indian ODI side for the Asia Cup in Bangladesh, a huge promotion for a 23 year old. Fans and supporters have begun to see him as a senior member in the team. He obviously has cemented his place in the side and dismissed competition from his closest rivals Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary.

Come Asia Cup, he alongside Gambhir put on another 200+ stand against Sri Lanka, got to his 10th century and guided India to another win. But what he has done today is magical. After the loss versus Bangladesh, India had to win against Pakistan. Bowlers gave away as many as 329 and Pakistanis made merry of the listless attack. A defeat loomed large. Defeat would've meant elimination. Kohli had different ideas. He, alongside Tendulkar, after Gambhir early exit, put on 133 and in quick time too.  Post Tendulkar's dismissal, Kohli built another fabulous partnership with Rohit Sharma. Both looked to play risk free cricket. Runs came freely. Rohit grew in confidence in Kohli's company and got himself a well made 68. But Kohli on the other end was exhilarating. When bowlers bowled length, he flayed them. If they bowled short, he pulled them. On occasions where they bowled tight, he was at ease while stealing singles too. Score of 330 was overhauled by the Indian with comfortable ease. Kohli scored a magnificent 183 off 148 balls. It's the 5th highest score ever by an Indian in ODIs. Pakistan captain Misbah termed it as one of the best innings he has ever seen. 

In the partnership with Tendulkar today and with Gambhir against Sri Lanka at Dhaka and Hobart, he was the dominant partner. Probably a sign of things to come. He has now taken over the mantle of being India's most consistent and talented batsman in ODIs. His runs tally since 2009 would point towards a batsman who is desperate to prove his worth and has done it flawlessly. 85 matches old in ODIs, Kohli has already registered 11 centuries. Put in perspective of the best ODI batsman ever, Tendulkar scored his first hundred in his 78th match and had 2 hundreds when he had played 85 matches. Kohli is racing ahead of his counterparts from other countries and is now surely THE most exciting young player in international cricket. 

Many more big things await the youngster. He is clearly being trained as a future captain of the side. When India goes into World Cup 2015 in Australia - New Zealand, he is expected to be the mainstay of the Indian batting. Much is said about his temperament and his tendency to spew profanities on field. To me, it's an expression of achievement or frustration of a 23 year old which isn't to be taken that seriously. He is a quick learner, he realises his responsibilities and will mature into a better player and would learn to control his desire to express himself openly. 

Melbourne Mess. Sydney Debacle. Perth, A Disaster?

Team India’s much looked forward to tour Down Under has already plummeted horrendous depths. After a decent fight in the Boxing Day test at Melbourne, the team capitulated sadly in Sydney. Melbourne test turned Australia’s way when Australia gained a small, yet sizeable lead of 51 in the first innings after India looked set for a first innings lead when Tendulkar & Dravid were going strong on the second day. From then on, Ponting & Hussey fought hard and so did the tail to set India a healthy 292 to chase. And the Indian batsmen sadly threw in their towels and wound up losing by 122 runs. If this was sad, Sydney would get worse. India choosing to bat first lost their way getting dismissed for 191. Australia, post initial hiccups courtesy Zaheer Khan, put up a mammoth 659 for 4. Skipper Clarke notching up a phenomenal triple ton, Ponting & Hussey got themselves career saving tons. Indian bowlers were listless in Zaheer’s exception. Rookies Yadav & Ashwin were dealt with ease. Ishant was effective in phases but too inconsistent to 
cause discomfort. Indian fielding went from passable to lethargic to disinterested to depressing. When India’s turn came to bat, some fight was expected from the famed batting line up. Gambhir, Tendulkar, Laxman put up some fight, where as Sehwag played like he didn’t care. His shot to get out when India was looking to play out 7 sessions was appalling.  After Tendulkar’s dismissal, India surrendered again. Laxman, Dhoni and Kohli got out in quick succession to push the team into abyss. Ashwin and Zaheer freed their arms and got India to a modest 400 and yet lose by an innings and 68 runs.

Defeat in the first test was thought of as a wake up call to the team and were expected to be much better in Sydney. Australia pacers; Hilfenhaus, Pattinson & Siddle, have stuck to their task brilliantly whilst all Indian batsmen have done is to meekly give in. All the Aussie pacers have done is to pitch it up and let the ball talk. They haven’t got too many wickets with the short ball. It’s the pitched up balls which have caused India all the trouble. Ashwin being India’s second highest run scorer in the series till yet after Tendulkar is a stat indicative of India’s struggles. Dravid, Laxman, Gambhir, Dhoni have got starts but have failed to get going. Dhoni’s captaincy on the other hand has been uninspiring. His finicky ways of handling bowling changes and field placements have often helped India in the shorter versions, but here, it was plain painful. As Ian Chappell pointed out, India bowlers can attribute much of their troubles to their captain Dhoni for the way he handled the field. Shoulders stooped, heads dropped and India began to wait for the declaration than trying to crack the Australian batsmen.

If Melbourne and Sydney wickets were quick, Perth is expected to be rampaging; like the WACA of old. Indian team’s spirits are low. Stalwarts not living up to the hype. Bowling not firing as a unit.  Changes are warranted, but who, how and when are the questions. Gambhir showed intent in the second innings at Sydney. India needs some major inspiration from Sehwag. When he fires at the top order, middle order gets time to play themselves in. I would go for bringing Laxman up the order at no. 3 and drop Dravid down at no 5. Making any radical changes in the team would only bring about more chaos. First thing in the team’s mindset should be to save these two test matches. Avoid the much discussed “whitewash”.  

Unboxing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2011-12

India versus Australia has always been the marquee series since the teams played out what is called one of the most absorbing series of test cricket in 2000-01 in India. The turnaround series. Since January 1st 2000, the two teams have played 22 test matches against each other in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Unlike no other team in recent history, with probably the exception of England in very recent times, India has an upper hand over their rivals. India has won 9 of those encounters, where as Australia have won 7 of them. Rest 6 have been draws, but draws which have played some part in upping one team's psyche over the other.

India's current tour of Australia will kick off with the Boxing Day test at Melbourne tomorrow. This series is what experts are calling 'India's best chance to defeat Australia in Australia'. I'd have to agree. While both teams look undercooked, Australia look scarily raw on paper. With no Watson their batting looks unappealing and without Johnson their bowling seems to lack depth. With Siddle and Hilfenhaus expected to lead the attack alongside Pattinson and Lyon, you get a feeling there is something missing. Bollinger would've made a difference here, he's injured too. Their woes don't end here. Their 'Mr Dependable', Mike Hussey has been going through a torrid run in the past few months. Question marks have been raised over Ponting's relevance in the team. Micheal Clarke has emerged as a good leader and his batting form has shown up too, but this is going to be his acid test too. Newcomer Warner and debutant Ed Cowan are expected to open the innings for Australia. Both have been in supreme form. But as a pair in international cricket they are untested and inexperienced. It's easy to say this is the weakest team Australia has played in a while. Looking at the team sheet doesn't quite exude confidence.

While Australia played without the services of Warne and McGrath when India toured in 2003-04, they then had Gillespie, Brett Lee and the hardworking duo of Bichel & MacGill. But their batting, especially Ricky Ponting, was in terrific form. They were then led by a capable & experienced Steve Waugh. And not to forget India's overseas jinx then. That 2003-04 series could be monumental in India having self belief that they can win tests abroad. Ganguly led by example with a century in the drawn first test at Brisbane. His captaincy was a mix of aggression and caution by which India could salvage a 1-1 draw. None of that looks too likely here. Clarke still in his formative days as captain. Batting looks far from confident enough to match up to the star studded Indian line up. Haddin is no Gilchrist. But Australians are still going to come hard at the Indians. They aren't expected to give a leeway to India in any way. Bowlers will pepper Indian batsmen with the short ball. Fielding will be top notch to cover up for other deficiencies.

Now a look at India.
Dhoni as usual underplays Australia's weak line up. He expects them to leave no stone unturned to intimidate Indians. India's biggest cause of concern though is the fitness of the bowling spearhead Zaheer Khan and their highest wicket taker in 2011, Ishant Sharma. The former has a history of breaking down in the middle of a tour, more so in the middle of a match like against England earlier this year. Ishant has had concerns with his ankle. They both have been bowling in the nets confidently and are expected to be fit for the series. These two are India's best bets to set the ball rolling. Their know how of the surfaces and Australian batting will help immensely. Without Zaheer, its difficult to see India taking 20 wickets in a match. Umesh Yadav will shore up a the third seamer. His pace and his rip will cause some discomfort. Ravichandran Ashwin walks in to the line up for this series with a reputation. Australians will be very vary of him. Pitches here will offer some spin, especially Sydney. His role will be very crucial. Australia, with the exception of Clarke, Hussey, aren't the best players of spin. Batting will be India's best chance. Australia doesn't have a Steyn or Anderson that Indian batsmen will need to guard against. Gambhir and Sehwag will tear into anything loose. Gambhir needs runs to back him. Then in the line up come the three "creaking terminators" as Dravid termed them in his legendary speech at the Bradman Oration. Dravid, Tendulkar & Laxman tour Australia for possibly the last time in their cricketing careers. This would be Tendulkar's fifth tour and Dravid & Laxman's fourth. They would love a 'test series win in Australia' in their CVs when they hang their boots. More over Dravid and Tendulkar, it's Laxman who would be giving Aussie bowlers nightmares. The numbers speak for themselves. The sixth batsman slot will be taken up by Virat Kohli after his reassuring knocks against West Indies in the tests. Rohit Sharma is knocking the doors too hard for Kohli's comfort. It's healthy competition though. So much depends on this one man, Dhoni. His unaffected demeanour, calm exterior and the passive aggressive intent not only keeps his team composed but it doesn't give a hint of what's going on in his mind to his opposite number. His wicket keeping has always been effective if not flamboyant. His batting though will be thoroughly tested by Australian pacers in this tough wickets.

Australians have a lot to pay India back for. The 2-0 'brownwash' in the 2010 series in India and the defeat in the quarter finals of the World Cup. Both teams have been beaten to pulp in the recent past by the Englishmen. This series will be a test of mettle for every player, more so for the two captains. There are some legends in both line ups. Hussey and Ponting for Australia and Dravid, Tendulkar and Laxman for India. Some upcoming youngsters in Warner, Pattinson, Lyon, Ashwin, Kohli, Yadav, Sharma & Christian. After the short (two test series) & absorbing Australia - South Africa test series acted as an 'appetizer', this series is the best 'main course' a test cricket afficionado could have asked for. Come tomorrow, brace yourself for some sleepless mornings watching the match and restless days in anticipation for next day's play.

Calm Post The Storm

Almost nine months since India clinched the World Cup 2011, international cricket has witnessed a sea of change. Change of captains for various teams. Crucial personnel have hung their boots. Debutants have taken centrestage and proved their worth in the international arena. 2011 has been a year where no one team have been able to declare supremacy. India, England, Australia and surprisingly Pakistan have had their moments, but none of them have dominated. As teams are gradually going through a transition phase, the right captains are being sought for.

Post April 2nd, eight of the ten test playing teams (including Zimbabwe) have seen a change in leadership. Only Dhoni for India and Sammy for West Indies have retained their roles 9 months since the World Cup. Both Dhoni and Sammy would are a part of their test teams purely as captains. They would've struggled to find a place in their sides based on purely batting, bowling or in Dhoni's case wicket keeping skills. In the ODI teams though, both have greater value. Dhoni, is a match winner for the team and Sammy makes up for lack of ground breaking skill with passion, energy and positivity.

Dhoni, post a dream World Cup, had a nightmarish tour of England. Having been blanked 8-0 in tests, ODIs and the only T20I, the captain was under immense pressure. Once back home, the team gathered steam against the same opposition and brown washed the visiting England 5-0 in ODIs with a team of youngsters in the absence of several seniors. The visiting West Indies got a taste of India's comeback abilities in the 2-0 test series defeat. Dhoni continues to back the youngsters and gets the best out of them. Seniors too have seemed content with Dhoni's captaincy.

Most teams have opted for a younger captain, whilst the veteran in team the plays senior mentor. Puzzling though has been the case of Sri Lanka, the World Cup runners up, where experienced campaigner Sangakkara retired immediately after the defeat in the finals in order to hand over the mantle to a younger captain. As events took turn, Tilakaratne Dilshan, who is older than Sangakkara was handed captaincy as it was felt Angel Matthews, the natural successor IMHO, was too young and inexperienced for the role. Logic would've dictated Sangakkara to have stayed on for a while more and groom Matthews or put the responsibilty on Matthews' shoulders like Kiwis did in 1996 with Lee Germon and South Africa did in 2003 by naming Graeme Smith as captain. Dilshan's reign hasn't exuded confidence up till now. Defeat in England in both tests and ODIs was followed up defeat at home against defiant Australians. Latest tour to the Middle East against Pakistan too ended in embarrassing defeats in Tests and ODIs.

While South Africa have opted for separate captains for the longer and shorter formats in Graeme Smith (for tests) and AB de Villiers (for ODIs & T20Is), England have gone a step ahead and have named three separate captains for the three formats. Andrew Strauss will continue to lead the test squad, Alastair Cook for ODIs and Stuart Broad for T20Is. While South Africa recently played a closely fought home series against Australia, losing the ODIs 2-1 and drawing the test series 1-1, England have had a dream run in tests and a horror run in ODIs. While South Africa will visit New Zealand this summer, England will play a rejuvenated Pakistan and a dispirited Sri Lanka in away conditions in the next few months.

It is never uncomplicated when it comes to Pakistan. Shortly after the World Cup, Afridi citing incompatibility with the Pakistan Cricket Board and then coach Waqar Younis, quit captaincy and announced untimely retirement from international cricket. Misbah ul Haq took charge of captaincy. Recent series win against the Sri Lankans must've given the Pakistanis a lot of heart. Youngsters taking responsibilities and veterans playing their role to the 'T', has been something Pakistan has been aiming for. In between these successes, former captain Shahid Afridi announced his return from retirement and declared his availability for selection for the ODIs against Sri Lanka. Selected he was and played match winning roles in the 4-1 series win.

For Australia, expectedly, Micheal Clarke has taken over as captain for Tests & ODIs and Cameron White for T20Is. Former captain Ricky Ponting still is a part of the Test and ODI teams. But the scrutiny on every performance of his increases as youngsters like Usman Khawaja and Callum Ferguson have been knocking the selection doors quite hard. Clarke's run up till now have been impressive and his personal form too seems to have flourished off late. His captaincy will be though tested against the visiting Indians later this summer.

New Zealand, since the World Cup haven't played much cricket. In captaincy news, Daniel Vettori announced retirement from the shorter formats to elongate his test career. Ross Taylor was named his successor for ODIs and T20Is. Their tour of Zimbabwe was marked by some good performances by the visitors and creditable fight backs from the home team. They have a tough tour of Australia ahead and they will be playing hosts to the warmed up South Africans later in the summers.

Bangladesh and Zimbabwe too have new captains after the World Cup. Shakib al Hasan and Elton Chigumbura have been replaced by dimunitive Mushfiqur Rahim and the enterprising Brendan Taylor. While Rahim hasn't had the best of times to begin with, Taylor has had an exceptional run. The team under him seems to have found the will to fight and he himself has lead by example in both Tests and ODIs. The chase of 328 against New Zealand in the third ODI recently showed that the team has enormous will to fight.

While the ODI sides have already begun targeting the World Cup 2015 in Australia, there is immense commotion on the top of the test rankings. England snatched the top ranking from India earlier this year. India & South Africa too are fighting hard to challenge England's recent rest domination. The next four months should make up for an interesting viewing as New Zealand & India tour Australia, Sri Lanka visits South Africa and South Africa in turn will travel to New Zealand. England's test match skills will be put to test as they visit Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Rahul Dravid: India's Perpetual Go To Man

If Indian cricket were a school, Dravid is the front bencher who'd raise his hands for everything the teacher asks the class. Still, he would be shadowed by the brighter, smarter, cheekier others. Since he made his ODI debut in Singapore in 1996 and test debut at Lord's in the same year, many questions have been asked of him, which he in his calm demeanour, has answered with a straight bat.

He was, in his initial years in international cricket, dubbed as a test specialist. He couldn't find gaps, couldn't get the quick singles, failed to up the ante when required and didn't have the all round ability to hold his spot in the team. Thus he was dropped for other options, who too didn't do well enough to keep Dravid out for long. The 1999 World Cup was his watershed moment in ODIs. He was the leading run getter in the tournament with a whopping 461 runs, even though India didn't get to the semi finals. His spectacular stand of 318 against Sri Lanka at Taunton with Ganguly is now more famous for the latter's 183. But, not many would remember it was Dravid who started attacking the Lankan spinners. Most memorable is his six over covers off Muralitharan.

He fell off the selectors' radar yet again in 2001 after a string of poor scores in ODIs. In 2002, the then captain, Sourav Ganguly bestowed faith in him and entrusted in him the task of keeping wickets for the team. This was to be a big challenge for Dravid. He was to bat at no. 5, shepherd the youngsters and the tail and keep wickets for 50 overs. A task he did remarkably well. If in school, Dravid would've been asked to prove his all round worth, even though he's terrific at the one thing he did.

His worth became that of an all rounder in the team. The first series he performed this role in was the historic NatWest Trophy in England in 2002 which India won by 2 wickets. He would continue this role till India found a replacement in Parthiv Patel in 2004.

Dravid performed the role of a vice captain under the astute leadership of Ganguly from 2000 to 2005 and lead the team in the captain's absence. Ganguly's personal form began to falter and the mantle of captaincy fell on Dravid amidst controversial circumstances. It was rumoured, Ganguly was ousted due to his closeness with the coach Chappell. In school, he would've been accused of influencing the class teacher to be made the class monitor.

Under his leadership in Greg Chappell's term as coach, India did very well as a ODI side. Dravid's personal form with the bat was golden. Though the team's resentment towards the coach was visible, it spurred on field only in the 2007 World Cup. India crashed out of the tournament in the league stages. Team's differences with the coach surfaced. Dravid soon resigned as captain and soon found himself out of the ODI team for younger, fresher faces. By now, he had scored over 10000 runs in both forms of the game and had guided youngsters like Yuvraj, Kaif, Raina, had record aggregate partnerships with Tendulkar & Ganguly and made a name for himself amongst the legends of the game. All this while, he continued to be the backbone of the Indian test outfit with the nickname 'The Wall'.

Dhoni was made the ODI captain and Kumble the test captain. In a move, many thought was stupid, he was brought back into the ODI team in 2009 for the tri nation cup in Sri Lanka and Champions Trophy in South Africa. India won the former and crashed out in the latter which again resulted in Dravid being dropped.

Just when all seemed rosy for the class, Dravid is roped in to make a difference and he doesn't do too badly in the chances given. He again is subdued for a new face. Frustration for which he never showed on his game. He continued to do his best in every opportunity he got. Played enterprisingly in his IPL franchise, Royal Challengers Bangalore's march to the finals in 2009.

Yet again, after India's debacle of a test series in England following the highs of the World Cup win (which Dravid wasn't a part of, not even the probables), Dravid was included in the ODI side, seriously injury ravaged and short on confidence. Dravid, by then, had had enough of this see-saw'ing'. He swiftly accepted his inclusion and announced this as his last limited overs series. His action implied he didn't anymore want to be someone whom selectors could toy around with.

One can confidently say he has a lot more to offer to the Indian test side. His three centuries against England in a series no other Indian could manage a three digit score stands proof for that.

An article on Cricinfo talking about Dravid's career and retirement summed it up in it's headline which read, "The misfit who thrived". He thrived and how! Many a young Indian cricketer and youth would find Dravid as the perfect role model. He is probably the epitome of soft spokenness, selflessness and calm demeanour displayed while playing for a cricket crazy nation like ours.