Dravid & Dhoni
Advantage Rahul Dravid
Dravid & Dhoni
By Anil
November 4 2005
Rahul Dravid, India's new ODI captain has led his team to an overwhelming series win at home against world number 2 team Sri Lanka.
Dravid & Dhoni
November 4 2005
Rahul Dravid, India's new ODI captain has led his team to an overwhelming series win at home against world number 2 team Sri Lanka.
Immediately preceding the ODI series against Sri Lanka, India played in the Champions Trophy, the premiere domestic ODI championship against India A and India B.
Both India A and B, consisting largely of India's second-string and third-string players, gave India a far tougher fight than has Sri Lanka so far. In fact, the key players for India in winning that championship were not members of their regular squad, but non-regulars inducted into the India team. In the final, Vidyut Siva single-handedly won it for India with the bat after failures from Tendulkar, Yuvraj, Rao, Dhoni and Yadav. Zaheer Khan did play a pivotal role with the ball, but for reasons best known to the selectors, is no longer part of the Indian squad.
So what has been the main factor in India winning 4 straight games to take the 7-match series 4-0? Rahul Dravid's captaincy? Sachin Tendulkar's return, which has boosted the team on-field and in the dressing room? Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who is certainly a contender for Man of the Series? Sri Lanka's weakness away from home? Coach Greg Chappell?
Controversial coach Chappell, after his public falling out with India's most successful captain Sourav Ganguly, has been under the BCCI scanner. One benefit of his wrangling with Ganguly has been to Rahul Dravid's benefit: Chappell has been extra careful not to draw any negative comments from Dravid, as BCCI would not be inclined to give him another chance.
After the 4-0 win, Dravid has been blunt in brushing off undue credit. "It's not so much about the coach or captain. I think the success we have had has been down to guys in the team knuckling down and performing well. You have to realise that without a good squad of guys, without a performing team, there's not much a coach can do," explained Rahul in an interview with Wisden's website.
There is a lamentable failure amongst Indian cricket media to analyze factors behind a given performance. Members of the same team that fared miserably under Chappell's watch in ODI series in Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe were blasted by the media even as the coach escaped largely without blame; yet, now that they have done extraordinarily well, the media hastens to credit Chappell. It would seem from this reaction that the players themselves have been operated by remote control.
Dravid points out the limits of a coach, "The credit should go to the people who perform - you can have all the theories you want, all the field placings you want, but if someone does not put the ball in the right areas or do the job with the bat, nothing else matters. The coach has a definite role to play in providing a good environment, but the credit should go to the guys who do the job."
Dravid also warns against painting every aspect of the team with the same brush, saying that one should not assume everything is working perfectly when the team is winning. "You can't discount the fact that winning makes you look good. If we lose a few games everyone will be saying the same squad of boys doesn't look good."
One example of a somewhat bizarre experiment, presumably by Chappell, has been the constant tinkering with the number 3 position. In this regard, Sri Lankan great Arjuna Ranatunga has expressed puzzlement, saying that the best batsman of the team should bat at number 3 and stay there. He has also added that it takes a very brave man to move a batsman out of number 3 position immediately after he has hit one of the best match-winning innings seen in ODI cricket whilst chasing a big target. After all, if the goal to find a permanent solution to that position, then continuing to experiment with it has little merit.
Dravid wants Indian fans to understand that Chappell is only one part of a large support staff, along with others such as physio Gloster, trainer King, analyst Ramki and manager Baladitya. He says that the support staff's job is to prepare the team, but once the team reaches the field, it is the captain's team, and it is up to him and the team to win or lose the game.
Rahul signs off with a warning against complacency, and a mention of the famous fickleness of supporters and media, "Everyone is jumping up and down about us winning the series. Yeah ok, we've done that, but we have to stop thinking about that and move on. If we lose, people will moan."
Both India A and B, consisting largely of India's second-string and third-string players, gave India a far tougher fight than has Sri Lanka so far. In fact, the key players for India in winning that championship were not members of their regular squad, but non-regulars inducted into the India team. In the final, Vidyut Siva single-handedly won it for India with the bat after failures from Tendulkar, Yuvraj, Rao, Dhoni and Yadav. Zaheer Khan did play a pivotal role with the ball, but for reasons best known to the selectors, is no longer part of the Indian squad.
So what has been the main factor in India winning 4 straight games to take the 7-match series 4-0? Rahul Dravid's captaincy? Sachin Tendulkar's return, which has boosted the team on-field and in the dressing room? Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who is certainly a contender for Man of the Series? Sri Lanka's weakness away from home? Coach Greg Chappell?
Controversial coach Chappell, after his public falling out with India's most successful captain Sourav Ganguly, has been under the BCCI scanner. One benefit of his wrangling with Ganguly has been to Rahul Dravid's benefit: Chappell has been extra careful not to draw any negative comments from Dravid, as BCCI would not be inclined to give him another chance.
After the 4-0 win, Dravid has been blunt in brushing off undue credit. "It's not so much about the coach or captain. I think the success we have had has been down to guys in the team knuckling down and performing well. You have to realise that without a good squad of guys, without a performing team, there's not much a coach can do," explained Rahul in an interview with Wisden's website.
There is a lamentable failure amongst Indian cricket media to analyze factors behind a given performance. Members of the same team that fared miserably under Chappell's watch in ODI series in Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe were blasted by the media even as the coach escaped largely without blame; yet, now that they have done extraordinarily well, the media hastens to credit Chappell. It would seem from this reaction that the players themselves have been operated by remote control.
Dravid points out the limits of a coach, "The credit should go to the people who perform - you can have all the theories you want, all the field placings you want, but if someone does not put the ball in the right areas or do the job with the bat, nothing else matters. The coach has a definite role to play in providing a good environment, but the credit should go to the guys who do the job."
Dravid also warns against painting every aspect of the team with the same brush, saying that one should not assume everything is working perfectly when the team is winning. "You can't discount the fact that winning makes you look good. If we lose a few games everyone will be saying the same squad of boys doesn't look good."
One example of a somewhat bizarre experiment, presumably by Chappell, has been the constant tinkering with the number 3 position. In this regard, Sri Lankan great Arjuna Ranatunga has expressed puzzlement, saying that the best batsman of the team should bat at number 3 and stay there. He has also added that it takes a very brave man to move a batsman out of number 3 position immediately after he has hit one of the best match-winning innings seen in ODI cricket whilst chasing a big target. After all, if the goal to find a permanent solution to that position, then continuing to experiment with it has little merit.
Dravid wants Indian fans to understand that Chappell is only one part of a large support staff, along with others such as physio Gloster, trainer King, analyst Ramki and manager Baladitya. He says that the support staff's job is to prepare the team, but once the team reaches the field, it is the captain's team, and it is up to him and the team to win or lose the game.
Rahul signs off with a warning against complacency, and a mention of the famous fickleness of supporters and media, "Everyone is jumping up and down about us winning the series. Yeah ok, we've done that, but we have to stop thinking about that and move on. If we lose, people will moan."
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