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The Rediff Interview / Rahul Dravid

'We depend on Sachin, I am not ashamed to admit it'

You've read the first part of the Rahul Dravid interview with Faisal Shariff -- now for the concluding segment

The format for the coming World Cup differs in a lot of ways from what has existed till now. What difference does this make in terms of strategy? What kind of thinking does the team need to adopt?

Rahul Dravid

In context of the format for this tournament, I think it is going to be very important to win against the top teams. Since you are carrying your points over, starting the tour well is going to be as important as peaking at the right time. We will need to perform well right through, and beat the top teams even in the league phase.

The national league in England is in a mess, thanks to rain and snow and all the rest of it. Do you think it is going to help the team to go there early, given the climatic conditions, when chances are you guys will end up sitting in hotel rooms watching the rain?

I don't think that sitting in India in 45 degrees heat is going to be of any help, that's for sure. I think it makes more sense to reach England and get acclimatized there, I think it's the best thing that we are doing. Even if it is raining, we can train in the gym there, do our running and keep fit. Even if we get two, three days in a week playing time, it will still be better than batting everyday in Madras in 45 degrees temperature. I think its one of the better things to happen, you know, most of us have been there and we know what the conditions are like. When we get there early we will be together as a unit, and I think that is important too, spending time with each other is more important than anything else.

Brijesh Patel being appointed to manage the team -- what is your reaction to the move?

It's a very good move to have made him administrative manager for the World Cup. He has played in two World Cups and he has been with the Indian team for quite a long time. He has a good cricketing brain, and he will be an asset for us in England. Then again, knowing the kind of person he is, he will never poke his nose in coaching matters.

Sledging is an issue coming into sharp focus these days, there was a lot of it happening during the India-Pakistan series, there is plenty of jawing during the West Indies-Australia showdown in the Caribbean. Do you think the ICC is doing enough to keep a check on it? Is the whole thing getting out of hand?

I don't think it is going out of hand. I am a firm believer that the human element is a very important aspect of the sport. In the end, we are all trying to do our best. And during key stages in a match, the human emotion is going to show up. I think the ICC has been very strict about it and they are doing a very good job. But I think that the match referee should allow for a human element. Suppose you are given out on a wrong decision, the referee should allow you to show disappointment -- it is a natural human emotion, and it is different from dissent. You can't supress human emotions, if you take the human element out of the game then its going to be just a boring game, and that will be very sad. A little bit of 'sledging' -- or maybe that is the wrong word -- a little bit of shall we say gamesmanship should be accommodated.

There was that famous showdown in South Africa, Donald swearing at you, and getting away with it, would you say that falls in the range of 'showing human emotion'?

Allan Donald

I am not justifying what he did. But what I feel is that he was not abusing me, he was just trying to win the game for his country, and I can understand where that sort of a feeling comes from. If I was trying to win a game for my country, then I would also be trying as hard and even my behaviour might get out of hand. And I would like people to understand that there is a human element involved in that as well. I am not trying to prescribe what is right or wrong. I am not the ICC referee.

But I do feel that sometimes we tend to take the human element from the game. There are some incidents that are very bad, and they are penalized. There are some others, which are very bad, and don't get penalized; and some which are very minor and get penalized. I think some leeway must be given. There is absolutely no consistency in the decisions.

But how does one cope with the sledging? Like, how did you keep your cool when Donald was doing his thing?

As a batsman I have realised that you have to keep your cool no matter what. If I get after him, he has six chances to take me out, and he can keep coming back, whereas if I make one mistake then I am out, and I am sitting in the pavilion watching him on television. So the key is to keep your mind on the job, to realise that you have more to lose by losing your head. I have realised that when I lose my cool or get aggressive then I tend to make more mistakes.

Everyone talks of India's over-dependence on Sachin Tendulkar...

Sachin Tendulkar

We depend on Sachin Tendulkar, we don't depend too much on Sachin Tendulkar, there is a difference.

He is the best batsman in the world, he would get into any side in the world today and in any side, not just the Indian side, he would today be the most important member. And every side depends on its most important member.

The West Indies depends on Lara; the Aussies depend on Steve Waugh, these guys are the best players in their squads, so the side depends on them. The top players in the side often affect the results. And when you are among the best players in the world, you influence a lot of results, that is why they are the best players. Yes, we do depend a lot on Sachin. I have no shame in admitting that. He is the best player in the world, and we are proud to have him on our side and he is proud to be on our side.

Take the example of Michael Jordan. The Chicago Bulls would have never won so many games without Jordan, just like Jordan would have never won if he had not played with the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls depend on Jordan and to an extent, Jordan depends on the Bulls, that is how team games are, though it is a team game, teams are built around individual players.

How seriously are you taking your bowling?

I bowl regularly in the nets. After I finish with my batting, I bowl in the nets. Hopefully, I'll get to bowl once in a while at the top level, take a few wickets for my team.

You've been arguing a case for Test stars to take more of a role in domestic cricket, could you elaborate on that thought?

I think it is one of the most important things. It helps raise the standards of the domestic game and I think it is a good experience for the young guys to mix with the senior guys. That's where the seniors can pass on their experience and knowledge, which makes the younger guys improve and become better players. I think that if the younger lot can regularly rub shoulders with the seniors, they will compete well and realise their own potential. I benefited a lot initially, playing with the senior guys like Kirmani. Then Srinath and Anil Kumble came along and helped me a lot, too. This I think is why it is important to for the national players to play domestic cricket.

From the inside, how do you rate team morale just now?

The morale is pretty good. I think the guys are disappointed since we haven't been winning enough, but I think everyone is looking forward to the World Cup and hoping to prove a point.

If you are never disappointed you will never improve. The guys have been playing a lot of cricket, and once we reach England we will focus again and think out our strategies.

Who are the best bowlers that you have faced?

Quite a few. Curtly Ambrose, Allan Donald, Wasim Akram, Saqlain Mushtaq and Muralitharan are the best bowlers I have ever faced

How about that delivery from Wasim Akram that got you out in the Test, the one that took out your off stump?

He showed his class in that match. He showed that he is one of the finest in the business in world cricket today. He sent down two, three balls that kept coming in -- reverse swing was happening at the time. He set me up! I knew what he was trying to do, but the fact was that the ball he bowled then, the one that left me and clipped the stump on its way through, it was so good that even before I knew what was happening, it was over, I was out. Not too many bowlers have the ability to swing the ball so much.

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