Out, but not down

Sir — The Board of Control for Cricket in India’s decision to drop Rahul Dravid from the first two one-day international matches against Pakistan has more to do with non-cricketing reasons than cricketing ones (“Vengsarkar puts Sourav, Sachin on notice”, Oct 28). It seems that the chairman of the selectors, Dilip Vengsarkar, is prejudiced against Dravid for reasons best known to himself. Vengsarkar has forgotten that while class is permanent, form is temporary. Dravid gave an excellent performance against England recently and still has a good strike rate. The BCCI should not treat a player of Dravid’s calibre this way.

Yours faithfully,
Sayantan Sil, Ranchi

Sir — The Indian selectors are back at their old game. Their treatment of the former Indian captain, Rahul Dravid, is almost indecent. The dropping of Dravid for the ODI series against Pakistan will remind Indian cricket fans of the humiliation Sourav Ganguly suffered with Kiran More at the helm of the selection committee. The selection of the team is also surprising. One fails to understand why Virender Sehwag has got his place back despite his string of poor performances — why should only one Challenger innings count? — while players like Dinesh Karthik and Suresh Raina have been ignored. Besides, to a selector with some common sense, Dravid will always be a better proposition than Sehwag. But Dilip Vengsarkar and his colleagues do not seem capable of rational thinking.

Yours faithfully,
Kalyan Ghosh, Calcutta

Sir — Some Pakistani cricketers have commented on India’s so-called loss because of Rahul Dravid’s omission from the team. They may be advised to pay attention to their own team, which has not been performing at its best for quite some time. In fact, the Pakistani cricket team faced a disaster akin to India’s in the World Cup earlier this year. Whether Dravid plays against Pakistan or not is India’s concern alone. India’s opponents in the upcoming series have no business making public statements about who plays against them and who does not.

Yours faithfully,
Abhijit Guha, Mississauga, Canada

Sir — The Indian selectors have once again shown their disdain for current form and chosen a team based on past performances. Had they waited for the Challenger series to be over, they could have picked an in-form S. Badrinath or Manoj Tewari against an unreliable Virender Sehwag — with a few past scores against Pakistan to speak for him. If the selectors could drop Rahul Dravid, why couldn’t they keep Sehwag in the freezer till he truly proved himself? With so many batsmen already vying for the opening slot, the BCCI should have had the courage to choose an in-form youngster.

Yours faithfully,
Udita Agrawal, New Delhi

Sir — Rahul Dravid may have lost his form but he is not yet a hanger-on like Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly. Dravid was a poor captain, but he certainly is not a poor cricketer. He remains India’s most dependable and technically-sound batsman. There is no doubt that Tendulkar is a shadow of his former greatness. If Ganguly had a point to prove, he proved it immediately after his recall. But it seems that he too is finally losing his touch. It is time for a graceful exit for both. Dravid, in contrast, still has a lot of cricket left in him. For all the positive changes he has initiated since taking over as the chairman of selectors, Dilip Vengsarkar has made his worst mistake by dropping Dravid for the first two ODIs against Pakistan.

Yours faithfully,
Sourav Chatterjee, Calcutta

Sir — If Rahul Dravid’s batting improves, he is likely to return to the team. India’s Twenty20 win led to an unnecessary hype about the team that was exposed to be ordinary by the Australians. Once again, some sections of the media and the experts are talking about building a new team with, once again, only the next World Cup in mind. The BCCI and its team of selectors are implored to not make the same mistake again. Indian cricket fans have not forgotten Greg Chappell’s folly yet.

The World Cup is a long way off and it is not the only major cricket tournament in the world. There will be innumerable ODIs and Test matches before the next World Cup. Does the BCCI consider these competitions to be insignificant? Besides, how can a good team be built for the World Cup without building a team that wins every match, every day? Despite the hype, all that Chappell’s efforts to build a team for the World Cup could achieve was an elimination in the first round. Besides, the ‘young’ team that has been winning T20s should be kept aside for that format alone and a mature team allowed to play Tests and ODIs.

Yours faithfully,
A.K. Ghosh, Calcutta

Sir — I fail to understand the hue and cry over Rahul Dravid’s exclusion from a couple of ODIs against Pakistan. Dravid’s class as a cricketer is for everyone to see. But his reputation cannot be used as a shield to defend his recent dismal scores. Sourav Ganguly too was dropped from the team when he was not performing. Dilip Vengsarkar’s uncompromising attitude is refreshing and, by excluding Dravid, he has made it clear that the team scores over the individual. Vengsarkar has rightly insisted on picking Praveen Kumar and Gautam Gambhir. Both have performed well in the domestic circuit as well as in the Challenger series.

But Virender Sehwag’s inclusion has come as a surprise since he has not done anything in a long time to merit a place in the team. One suspects that his past performance against Pakistan prompted the selectors to pick him. But if true, this violates the logic used to keep Dravid out. Vengsarkar could instead have looked at S. Badrinath and Manoj Tewari. Finally, a selector’s allegation that Sourav Ganguly should have been left out instead of Dravid, but Vengsarkar insisted on dropping the latter, contradicts the Colonel’s earlier motto of keeping all non-performers out.

Yours faithfully,
Moinak Basu, Raniganj