JOIN USWorking on a few things:Dravid
Rahul Dravid has gone through a rough patch so far in the series against Australia, averaging under 30 in four innings.
More alarmingly, the Bangalorean has been dismissed bowled three times by Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus, showing a chink in his otherwise impenetrable defence. Dravid said on Wednesday that he has been working on his technique, and hoped to see the results in the third Test at Perth, beginning on Friday.
“I’ve definitely worked on everything… irrespective of whether I’ve been bowled or not. Obviously, when you get out three times, you do think about it. I’ve worked on a few things. Hopefully, it will get better. I don’t think there’s anything that I have drastically changed. It’s been a very successful last year for me. So I’ve looked through some videos and I hope I can fix where I went wrong,” Dravid said.
Dravid said the Indian team was not too worried about the criticism after two poor outings in Melbourne and Sydney.
“One of the good things about touring is that you are in a bit of a cocoon. You don’t tend to know what’s happening back home. In a way, that’s good. I think the spirit in the team has been actually pretty good. The enthusiasm to practice… just the overall energy around the squad has been really good. Obviously, it’s a disappointment with the results we have had so far.”
The Australian media has reported that Virender Sehwag has been creating fissures in the team, and Dravid laughed them off. “When you lose 2-0, all these things happen. Suddenly, there will be all sort of stuff floating around. There is absolutely no truth to any of these things.”
On Australian wicket-keeper Brad Haddin’s comments that this Indian team is fragile under pressure, Dravid said, “When you’ve played a lot of cricket, you don’t worry about these things. The cricket is the most important thing. We’ve got five days of important cricket coming up to worry about.”
Dravid backed VVS Laxman, whose place in the team has been questioned by former players after a string of low scores. “I don’t think it has affected Laxman too much. We’ve been around for a long time, and have learnt to accept that it’s part and parcel of the job. Personally, I know that Lax is a pretty relaxed character. He’s a top-class performer for us. Our batting depends a lot on him.”
On the challenge of playing on a fast Perth pitch, Dravid said, “It’s going to be the same wicket for both teams. It’s a great challenge. If you do well here, in these conditions, like we did last time around, it gives you a great amount of thrill and satisfaction. You want to come outside and play in conditions like these. You know that’s what you’re going to be judged upon.”
Dravid also said India needed to capitalise on the opportunities in the next two Tests. “I know that the results may not show it. But we had our chances in Melbourne. We can take heart from the fact that Australia were 20-odd for four in Melbourne. It’s important for us that we don’t go down the same road like we did against England.”