Tags:
Journalism of Courage
For Rahul Dravid, one of the most selfless and hard-working players of his generation, being named India captain is a just reward. But in taking this important step forward, the selectors continue to display traces of diffidence and uncertainty that cannot do the game much good. Dravid will be captain, we are told, for the two one-day series that are to be played against Sri Lanka and South Africa. After that what?
This is a question that is being raised quite validly by observers of the game. Here is a cricketer who has displayed consistency as a player, who has matured with the years, and one who has the coach8217;s trust. He needs to be given the time and space to grow into his captaincy and prove himself as a team-leader. This could entail poor decisions, lost opportunities and matches lost. But there really are no shortcuts to acquiring a world-class captain. The point is that if we can have a coach till the 2007 World Cup, why can8217;t we have a captain until then? That apart, the Dravid appointment signals a forward-looking agenda 8212; and the team announced on Friday appears to have been chosen with precisely such an objective in mind. Coach Greg Chappell has generally been more impressed by form than reputation. The dropping of V.V.S. Laxman and Zaheer Khan seem to underline this. Team India is very much a work in progress and the new team could be a possible blueprint for a World Cup team. It has, for starters, a clearly youthful look to it 8212; half the team have fewer than 20 international caps.
