Rahul Dravid for legalising betting if it helps reduce corruption

Former India cricket captain Rahul Dravid on Tuesday, said that he was in favour of legalising betting in the country if such a step can help reduce corruption in sports.

Asked if he was in favour of legalising betting in the country, Dravid said, "If it can help in reducing corruption, I am all for it."

Dravid was speaking at a special session on 'Ethics and Integrity in Sports' organised by the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) here. (Note:Adjoining is an archive image)

He pointed out four integrity issues in Indian sports that require legal intervention.

"While the subject matter of sports integrity is very vast in its scope, I would like to focus the attention of legislators and policy makers in our midst to matters that I believe require immediate attention.

"There are four integrity issues in Indian sport that require legal intervention, which are, age fraud, doping, deliberate under-performance and player involvement in the betting industry," said the former skipper.

More: http://sports.ndtv.com/cricket/news/216891-rahul-dravid-for-legalising-betting-if-it-helps-reduce-corruption

Sachin would have listened to his heart - Dravid

Former India captain Rahul Dravid on Sachin Tendulkar's retirement from Test cricket October 10, 2013

Rahul speaks: For video, please click here.

Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid: God doesn’t make men like them any more

Like many cricket aficionados of India, this writer too found it difficult to choose as to which team to support in the final of the Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20) at Ferozeshah Kotla, Delhi: To support the one captained by a member of that rare breed of gentlemen who was as solid as a wall on the cricket field, or the one which had in its ranks a master blaster whose phenomenal achievements have become the cricketing touchstone against which the batsmen of all generations are and will be appraised?

In fact, the said match was not about two Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises; it was all about two Indian batting greats. That both of them — Rahul Dravid of Rajasthan Royals and Sachin Tendulkar of Mumbai Indians — were playing their last T20 match only made the choice much more difficult and no less emotional. Emotional because this writer belongs to a generation that not only grew up watching these two gentlemen play but also grew up along with them.

Sunday’s CLT20 final match was special, for it gave us one last glimpse of the batting legends together on the field as professional players. Dravid has now retired from all forms of competitive cricket and Tendulkar will henceforth be seen only in white flannels in Test matches.

There were cheers for both of them from the spectators as well as the rest of the players. Both were given guards of honour by their respective teams. There was goodwill all around and the warmth in the air was palpable. The batting legends too did not miss the significance of the occasion.

“One final time is nice. It’s funny that we have played against each other more in coloured clothing,” said Dravid, and added, “Even though Tendulkar is of my age or two months younger to me, he is seven years senior to me as an international cricketer. When I came into the Indian team, in my third Test, Tendulkar was India captain. He was someone you would look up to as a young cricketer growing up. You saw this young kid do amazing things across the world. It was sort of inspiration for all of us playing First-Class cricket.”

Tendulkar too returned the compliments, describing Dravid as a “master technician.”

“Absolutely, he is a master technician. Any day in my team, he will be number three, because there were so many innings in which he batted brilliantly. When the rest of the guys found it difficult, he was comfortable. He loved challenges and I knew we could bank on Rahul at the times of difficulty,” recalled the little master fondly.

Interestingly, in their final appearance in a match together, though on opposite sides, both Tendulkar and Dravid were bowled out rather cheaply: Tendulkar was clean bowled by Shane Watson for 15 after scoring two breathtaking boundaries in the previous two deliveries, and Dravid, who walked in as the eighth batsman, made just one run before exposing his leg stump to a Nathan Coulter-Nile delivery. But that did not take anything away from the greatness of the two batting maestros who have together scored close to 92,000 runs in all formats of the game.

It was like the game of cricket itself decided to ensure that two of its most illustrious ambassadors remained equally the focus of the attention and not an insignificant score in an insignificant T20 match. Yes, for once, the players were bigger than the ‘game’ and deservedly hogged all the attention and adulation.

Asked if his jersey number should be retired, Dravid magnanimously said, “I’m okay giving away my jersey number (19). Dinesh Karthik is wearing mine, I think.” The No 10 jersey made famous by Tendulkar would also go to a youngster in the future, and Tendulkar would have no complaints. For these two finest achievers, it would be like passing the cricketing baton to the next generation. They may be very few, but gentlemen still exist in what is supposedly the gentleman’s game. It is just the god doesn’t make men like ‘em anymore.

(Venkatesan Iyengar was a speedster who could swing the ball both ways. He captained his school team at the zonal and district levels. His boyhood dream was to open the bowling for Team India in the august company of his idol Kapil Dev. Even today the sight of Kapil makes him nostalgic)

Credits: cricketcountry

Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar: Fairytale journey for one and dream win for the other at CL T20

The crowd roared and cheered as Rahul Dravid led the Rajasthan Royals on the field and the same welcome was given to Sachin Tendulkar as he walked out to open the innings for Mumbai Indians.

The love the fans felt for the two greats of Indian cricket was clear for all to see at the Ferozshah Kotla on Sunday as the legends and their teams faced each other for the Champions League T20 title.

Sachin Tendulkarplayed some of his textbook shots but had to depart for 15 as Rahul Dravid was left with a lot to think as the Mumbai Indians batsmen went on a massive hitting spree.

The Rajasthan Royals who were playing for the first time away from home where they won all their matches started the chase well but the score was too big for them to get to.

Rahul Dravid showed his astute captaincy as he chose to promote Sanju Samson to No3 and held himself back in the batting cause.

Though Dravid's team were second best in the final through the tournament they have been the best team. Amid the spot-fixing and betting scandal that rocked the IPL which saw three Rajasthan players get caught, Dravid showed his great ability to handle the team and lead them to wins on the trot in the CLT20.

Rajasthan Royals' Ajinkya Rahane was awarded the Golden Bat for scoring 288 the most runs in the tournament and his 41-year-old teammate Pravin Tambe bagged the Golden Wicket for the most wickets with 12 scalps.

Mumbai Indians' Dwayne Smith was declared the Man-of-the-Series and Harbhajan Singh the Man-of-the-match.

Sachin Tendulkar was given a fairytale farewell as his team won the CLT20 and added it to their IPL title earlier this year.

As Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid bow out of the T20 arena in cricket both men leave as winners - one with a title and the other with pride at a job well done.

Credits: dnaindia

Rahul Dravid: A lotus in cricket's contaminated pond

Rahul Dravid played his last competitive cricket match during the final of the Champions League T20 (CLT20) 2013, for the Rajasthan Royals against the Mumbai Indians. - File Photo/IANS


He was called the gentlemen's gentleman. Whoever branded cricket the gentleman's game decades ago must have foreseen someone like him gracing the sport in the future. He was called “The Wall” for his robust, rock-solid, and near-impregnable defence while batting. He was called the epitome of the spirit of the game for his unblemished character. He was called the grammar of cricket for being the living incarnation of the sport's coaching manual, with all the physics and the geometry of the art of batting perfect to the tee. He was a purist.

He was never meant for Twenty20 cricket, or instant cricket as it was called, due to its popcorn entertainment genre and the swing-and-slog style of batting that was required from it, which was far apart from his orthodoxy. He was said to have passed his prime and his time when he went through a prolonged slump between 2006 and 2009, well on the wrong side of 30. It was the era of the Chris Gayles and the AB de Villiers, who were the tablet phones to his transistor. He was dropped from the limited-overs team as India got closer to their home World Cup, but survived through the years in the longer format due to the reputation he had carved since his debut in 1996 of being the spine of the Indian batting. He was the safety net.

He was never meant for Twenty20 cricket, and the fact was highlighted when he failed miserably in the first three seasons of the house party that is the Indian Premier League (IPL), where he was the ‘icon player’ for his home team Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). He would later be dumped for the Gayles and the de Villiers, but found shelter in the homely Moneyball franchise that is the Rajasthan Royals. Meanwhile, he was the lone survivor rooted to the ground when England went on rampage in their own backyard in 2011 and brought the world champions crashing to the ground. He helped save his team whatever face he could, byplundering 461 runs in four Tests at age 38. He even made his T20 International debut during the tour, scoring 31 from 21 balls, including three sixes. He was an adapter.

For the Rajasthan Royals, he took over the captaincy from another legend of the game, Shane Warne. He took his time to settle in with the new franchise and his new team, and gradually picked up on his scoring. From one fifty in 2011, he went one better the following year, and by 2013 he had scored four half-centuries at the top of the order and led the Royals — a team severely lacking in star power — to the semi-finals of the IPL. This, after the team was at the centre of the biggest spot-fixing scandal to hit Indian cricket where a number of their players, including the owner, were accused and called up for questioning by the police. But he ensured that the team maintained its focus and moved ahead. He was the guiding light.

At 39, he had retired from international and First-Class cricket in early 2012 on his own accord, after failing with the bat on a tour of Australia, rather than politely being shown the door. He slipped away from the Indian dressing room quietly without a fuss, dabbled in commentary for a while and continued to play for the Royals for another year. Finally, after a competitive playing career spanning more than two decades, he decided to call it quits from all forms of the game after the incident-packed 2013 season. He was a responsible man.

He was the cynosure of all... well, almost, since it was also the last T20 tournament of one of his long-time buddies from the Indian team, who was a bigger national icon and heartthrob. He didn't mind it at all, as had been the case throughout his career. He did not have the fairytale ending that his fans craved for, having a mediocre tournament with the bat, although he did lead his team to the final. As if it was a written script, he was up against India's favourite son in the summit clash. The God of Indian cricket vs The Wall of Indian cricket, they called it. He brushed it all way.

He scored one run in the final, even as his team lost to the superstars, proving that fairy tales exist only in story books. He was blamed by few for having come in to bat too late, at No 8, to help his team's cause, who were up against a mammoth total of 202. He took whatever criticism he copped in his stride, like he had done his entire career. While the opposition team celebrated their win and lifted the "God" on their shoulders for the victory lap, he sombrely slipped away after the handshakes, never to be seen on the cricket field again. He got the applause from the crowd, but nothing compared to his counterpart. He did not mind it. He was no God. He was noSachin Tendulkar. He was Rahul Dravid.

Credits: dnaindia

I have been inspired by Sachin Tendulkar's exploits: Rahul Dravid

Tendulkar's final T20 act and Dravid's last hurrah in competitive cricket were the talking points at the Feroze Shah Kotla here as the two legends got together though in the colours of Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals. The two legendary batsmen had announced that this would be their final Twenty20 season.

Rahul Dravid.

Playing for one last time together in a cricket match, albeit for different teams in the Champions League Twenty20 summit clash in New Delhi, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid on Sunday heaped encomiums on each other with the latter saying that his long time former India team-mate had inspired him to strive for excellence in the game.

Tendulkar's final T20 act and Dravid's last hurrah in competitive cricket were the talking points at the Feroze Shah Kotla here as the two legends got together though in the colours of Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals. The two legendary batsmen had announced that this would be their final Twenty20 season.

"Even though Tendulkar is of my age or two months younger to me, he is seven years senior to me as an international cricketer. When I came into the Indian team, in my third Test, Tendulkar was India captain. He was someone you would look upto as a young cricketer growing up. You saw this young kid do amazing things across the world. It was sort of inspitation for all of us playing first-class cricket," Dravid said before the start of the CLT20 finale.

"It was like, look if this guy can do it, we can also try to do it. The opportunity to try and share a dressing room with him, that was a huge motivation. For me to be on that England trip for the first time and share a dressing with him was a huge trip," said Dravid.

The 40-year-old Dravid had retired from international cricket at the beginning of 2012 while Tendulkar, who retired from One-Day International cricket last December, is in the twilight of his Test career. Together they have scored close to 92,000 runs in all formats of the game.

Tendulkar, who is also 40, returned the compliments, by describing Dravid as the "master technician".

"Absolutely, he is a master technician. Any day in my team, he will be number three, because there were so many innings in which he batted brilliantly. When the rest of the guys found it difficult, he was comfortable. He loved challenges and I knew we could bank on Rahul at the times of difficulty."

Tendulkar, who has already retired from One-day cricket but still playing the longest format, holds the record for most Test and ODI runs -- 15,837 and 18,426 runs respectively -- while Dravid has scored 13,288 Test runs and 10,889 in ODIs.

Tendulkar has also scored 100 international centuries (51 in Tests and 49 in ODIs).

The two cricket legends played together for the country for 16 years but rarely they have played against each other.

Asked about this, Dravid, who is leading the Rajasthan Royals side, said, "I can't remember playing against Sachin in Ranji Trophy for Karnataka versus Mumbai. Only played against him in West Zone versus South Zone. All our contests have been in coloured clothing, surprisingly, in spite of the fact that we played for so many years together. So one final time it is always great to play against Sachin."

Tendulkar also said that he would cherish this moment.

"I remember Rahul being part of Wills Trophy team when I was his captain but we played in whites. That was the first time I saw Rahul. I think it was way back in 1993-94 and since then we have been in whites and colours but playing in same team," he said.

"This is rare moment where we two actually get to play against each other in colour clothing, obviously in IPL. But on any other platform we have not been able to play against each other in whites and that would have been something special," said the senior batsman who is standing on the cusp of playing his 200th Test.

Tendulkar has not been in top form in this tournament, having scored only 20 runs in four matches with a highest of 15, but the Mumbaikar opened up in the semifinals against Trinidad and Tobago last night, hitting a 31-ball 35.

In the process, he completed 50,000 runs in all formats of cricket, becoming the first Indian to do so and 16th in the world. Before today's CLT20 final match, he has 50,009 runs in 956 competitive matches, which includes 551 List A matches, 307 First-class matches and 95 Twenty20 games.

Today's venue — Kotla — has been lucky for Tendulkar and it was here he struck his 35th Test century to surpass legendary Sunil Gavaskar.

Credits: dnaindia

Royals skipper Rahul Dravid needs one final act

For a man who always said it was instinctive of him to look ahead than at what had happened, Rahul Dravid will step out onto a cricket field on Sunday with no tomorrows thereafter.

The final of the Champions League T20 at the Ferozeshah Kotla will most probably be the final time we will see the tentative-looking, worry-eyed yet completely in control Karnataka batsman in an international capacity.

Typically, as with most things Dravid, it could be buried in the din that will naturally accompany Sachin Tendulkar's final outing at the Kotla.

With the Kotla in all likelihood out of running to host one of the two Tests against the West Indies in November, there is an inevitability about Tendulkar too, but first Dravid.

The leadership of Rajasthan Royals brought forth a different, hitherto unknown, dimension to the man. It is possible that he learnt at the feet of Shane Warne as his deputy during the fourth season of the IPL in 2001.

But as the Royals stand one win away from a well-deserved CLT20 title, what is more certain is that Dravid himself had to summon more from his reserves as one controversy after another - ones that clawed at integrity, ethics and moral fibre - rocked his team. A lesser man and his team would have jumped ship, or worse hidden till the storm blew over.

So, what makes the Royals tick? It was a mystery in 2008, more than five years later it is still remains one. At least now, there is the calming Dravid factor to explain some of it.

Declared as no-hopers, terminated by the BCCI, branded as cheats by the Enforcement Directorate, almost chased out of their home (Jaipur), put in a fix by some unscrupulous players, asked to change their name... their list of troubles was never-ending. Yet, they bounced back every time.

How do they do it?

As coach Paddy Upton would tell you, the Royals do their things a bit differently from others. "We ensure that every player in the team is treated equally," he says. At the team meetings, a (Sanju) Samson's view is given as much importance as Shane Watson's."

Perhaps that is the difference that Upton talks about. "We have very few stars and so we have to come up with new ideas," Dravid says. One of them would be unleashing a completely unknown Pravin Tambe on unsuspecting opponents.

It's like pulling the rabbit out of the hat. Where were Ravindra Jadeja and Yusuf Pathan before Warne 'discovered' them? Or, Tambe or Samson before Dravid did the same? Under their skipper, age is just a number.

The calm, composed approach to batting belies Samson's age (18). When Tambe sprints to prevent a boundary, you have to pinch yourself to believe he is 41 years old. "Nobody asked my age when I came for the trials," Tambe says.

Nobody asked Samson's age either. The Sreesanths, Chandelas and Chavans now seem aberrations which could so easily have been avoided. "We have been through an extremely difficult phase and only a good performance could have reduced some of the stigma that has got attached to us," says Raghu Iyer, the Royals CEO, who had to do a lot of fire-fighting after the spot-fixing scandal threaten to take everything down with it. "Our image has taken a beating for no fault of ours," he adds.

What Iyer forgot to add is that their captain had evolved into a leader but he still carried that image of the straightest of bats and men. It came in so handy when it was needed the most.

Credits: timesofindia