The Hindu : Youngsters' chance to stand up and be counted

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 19, 2002

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Sport - Cricket

Youngsters' chance to stand up and be counted

By Our Special Correspondent

Mumbai June 18. Sourav Ganguly boarding the last flight out of Dum Dum to Mumbai on Monday meant that Rahul Dravid was once again asked to `replace' the tour captain at the official press conference at Taj Mahal Hotel.

The airline, by which Ganguly and family flew to Mumbai en route to London, might have taken affront at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Hon. Secretary, Niranjan Shah's statement that the Indian captain could not be present at the press conference because of the delay in the flight from Kolkata. The fact was that Ganguly rescheduled his departure by two hours and took the 7-45 p.m. flight.

It's become a habit for Dravid to `replace' Ganguly, but only as a substitute at `on-the-eve-of-the-tour' press conferences. Sobriety has always been the soul of his batting and general demeanour. There were no surprises from him in the course of the near-30-minute Q & A session. He was neither willing to exaggerate, nor understate. He preferred to be matter of fact and business-like.

His answer to "Would you risk predicting the results in England?" was "I would love a series victory for India, whatever the score line.'' That said a lot about his pride and passion in playing for India. He began the conference saying, "A Test tour of England is always special, it's something every cricketer looks forward to. To me it's a good feeling to go back there after six years for a Test tour. Many youngsters in the team are looking forward to playing there.''

England has a special place in Dravid's heart. He began his Test career there in 1996, scored 95 at Lord's and 84 & 8 at Trentbridge for an aggregate of 187 and an average of 62.33 in his first three batting appearances.

When asked what made England special, he said, "I guess it's all about tradition and history. It's special to represent your country in England. England is the home of cricket; you recognise the game was played there first and probably that's why India toured England first. It's probably the tradition, history, culture and the fact that people love their cricket and support it which makes England a special place.''

Dravid acknowledged that England's pace attack has the edge. "But then it's a challenge to play a good team. England's attack is more experienced. There is no doubt about that. From what I gather and from what I am seeing, they are playing good cricket against Sri Lanka.

"But therein lies the challenge for us, to take it up and play against a good team on their home turf.''

The big four — Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Dravid and V.V.S. Laxman have their task cut out. India's vice-captain agreed. "Sachin, Sourav, myself and Laxman are the senior and main batsmen in the side. We will take the responsibility and lead the batting. But when I look at some of the younger guys there is a lot of talent in them and a lot of desire to do well.''

"There's exciting talent. Look at Sehwag (Virender) and Wasim (Jaffer) ... they have done really well. Das (Shiv Sundar) had a tough tour of the West Indies, but I really think he is a good player. Dinesh Mongia has been sitting out. There are Kaif (Mohammad) and Yuveraj ... they all want to do well. The senior guys will have to bear the responsibility, probably we will see contributions from the younger guys as well.''

For the first time in two decades India has been awarded a four-Test rubber. "It's good to play four Tests. I thought that playing five in the West Indies was good as well. Three can be really short. By the time you know what's happening it's all over. So, four is a good number and hopefully we will be able to adapt to the conditions there.

"Our pace attack is quite young and inexperienced. They will be looking forward to doing well there. It's a great opportunity for one of the seamers to stand up and be counted and lead the attack. From our point of view it's like looking forward to seeing which one of these guys will take that role. Both the spinners are experienced. They are world class spinners. I don't need to say much about them.''

Dravid agreed that the programme had been nicely spread, especially the Test series. "There is a side game in between each of the Tests which is good. Probably it will give an opportunity for some batsmen and bowlers to rest and make way for others to play. Sometimes the schedules are so tight that some players travel with the team and don't get chances to play. England is a great place to tour, as I found out in 1996. It gives batsmen a chance to hit against some of the county sides which is a great learning experience.''

Talking about playing in England in the second half of the summer he said, "From the weather point of view, I think it's more comfortable playing in the second half of the English summer. Having played there a whole county season, I learnt that it could be really cold and difficult. Probably the spinners will come into play later on in the summer. But then, in England the weather can vary from week to week. But generally playing there in the second half should suit us better.

Dravid also said that the seniors — Tendulkar, Ganguly and himself — would get opportunities to interact with the juniors about what to expect in England. "Generally there is a decent sharing of knowledge between the seniors and juniors and hopefully that will happen again.''

There was also a question on what he felt about keeping wickets. "I am trying to do my best as a wicketkeeper. I am getting better at it. The better I get at it, the more I will enjoy it.''

Dravid refrained from taking questions on selection matters, but in the end, when asked why India was not able to win a series on foreign soil, he said, " We are not playing good enough cricket right through in a series and playing well only in patches.''

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