DWS Extra

Disclaimer: I am no cricket expert. Not even a cricket enthusiast. So kindly forgive, if you can, the crimes I commit in this post.

So Rahul Dravid has been dropped from the Indian ODI team - at least for two matches as I understand it. What I don’t get are the accusations of this being unfair, disrespectful, ungrateful, graceless etc. etc.

I have always liked Dravid - and I still do. He has always been there for the team. Sometimes singlehandedly fighting losing battles. Sometimes taking the attack to the attackers. Always self-controlled, disciplined.

For all that, I think he should be out of the team for the time being.

I was watching his body language during the last series against Australia. Not good at all.

This is a man who looks harried when everything is going his way. He was looking even worse, if such a thing is even possible.

His performance recently has been bad any way you look at it.

Therefore, he should be dropped - and if he regains his form, and if he really is performing better than any member of the team then, he should be brought back.

Being the logical, rational person that he is, I am sure he would understand that. At least, that is Rahul Dravid for me.

In fact, I would be thrilled if Dravid comes out with a statement that says, “Obviously I have been underperforming recently, and in that state, I would be a burden on the team - and it would be grossly unfair to keep me in the team unless I can improve my performance.”

Is that likely? Somehow I don’t think so and it makes me sad.

Yes, there is a lot more to selection and dropping - we all know that.

But Dravid was also someone who operated within the boundaries of the ridiculous selection system that we have in India for as long as he was the Captain. He has benefited from the system when he was in charge, and now he is being whipped. That is the way of things. Nothing to complain about, is there? The same as Ganguly. Ganguly had everything going his way for a very long time - he too benefited from the system, and later was whacked hard. What is there to complain about? Better have a philosophical view of the entire drama.

Forget what the current and ex-selectors have to say about it all. They all have used the system to the best of their skills - and there are many instances when you could have said they were unfair to players. Every single word any selector says, in support of Dravid or against, should be ignored. They do not have the credibility to say anything at all.

We, as people who love cricket, also should make up our minds. If we go by gratitude towards players, we should never ever ask Sachin, Ganguly or Dravid to step down. If we go by performance, we should always ask them to step down if they don’t perform well for one series, or two or three.

OK, our system is not professional that way. Too bad. It is Dravid who is losing out today, and a Sehwag who is gaining. Tomorrow, the roles may be reversed. What’s new, though?