Sandeep Patil and Sankay Manjrekar, the two former cricketers, said Dravid got a raw deal from the selectors who showed scant respect for his contribution to the game.

“I had earlier supported the idea that Sharad Pawar, as BCCI president, should not interfere in selection matters. I would revise my decision now and recall how once NKP Salve, as then BCCI president, had intervened and influenced the selectors to include Sunil Gavaskar after he had been dropped,” Patil said.

Patil said the latest development was perhaps linked with why Dravid relinquished the captaincy without giving any reasons after a successful England tour and looked out of sorts during the recent ODI series against Australia. “The National selectors have played a ‘planned game’. The manner in which they have dumped a devoted cricketer like Rahul Dravid only reflects the degeneration that has come to dominate Indian cricket on and off the field,” Patil said.

“I feel very sad at the treatment given to Rahul. Captain of the team a few months ago, he relinquished the responsibility for reasons he has not disclosed but it is not difficult to understand the game now,” he said.

“Now I can understand why Rahul appeared so different during the series against Australia. He was under tremendous pressure and I suspect he is a victim of a conspiracy,” Patil said. He, however, did not put the full blame on Vengsarkar and said other four selectors were equally responsible for the “illogical” decision.

“What is worse is that this ugly episode involves a dear friend of mine. I fail to understand how come a batsman who always played with a straight bat is now indulging in cross-batted stuff. It will be wrong to blame Vengsarkar alone for the decision because four others also have agreed to this illogical step,” he added.

Manjrekar said it was unfortunate that a “selfless” cricketer like Dravid had been given such a raw deal when he needed the support most. “If Dravid has indeed been dropped, it is unfortunate. Dravid has been the most selfless Indian cricketer that I have seen for the last ten years,” he said.