Rahul Dravid steps down-What next ?

[sd92]

The poll is useless. Dravid is not going to step down anytime soon, and doesn't need to either.

Agreed, i feel the same, just because he made one or two bad decisions, and he loses a series people pile the pressure on for him to step down.

 

[sohum]

Maybe, he should remain as Test skipper but he obviously doesn't have the support of the India fans so maybe he should pass on the reigns to the popular Sourav Ganguly.

The popular Sourav Ganguly? I didn't know I was in a minority.

He definately need to step down he was the first captain under whom India was kicked out from the 1st round from World Cup : he is areally great player but definately not worth as a captian

He also played in the first World Cup where teams only played 3 games to determine whether they would move on to the next round... or at least the first World Cup in the last two decades if not longer (Andrew?).

dravid, in my opinion, is far too defensive when it comes to fielding and desicions, for an example, at the oval, india had a chance to go for the kill and win the series even more convincingly, but nooooo, ' i won't let my seamers who are on song exploit the overcast conditions'.............15 mins later, 'oh no, we are 11-3'

What about when he says, "Oh I'll let my seamers who are on song exploit the overcast conditions" and ends up with the opposition two wickets down after 50 overs?

It's not a knee jerk reaction to losing the ODI series. Many people in India don't approve of his captaincy and believe he was given the job just because of seniority.

He was given the job through a process of elimination. As professional as they may be as cricketers, I promise you that there would be huge ego issues if they tried to ask a youngster to captain the team.

My opinion is to stick with Dravid just because there is no one who can comfortably take his place. I don't feel Dhoni is going to do any magic as captaining from behind the stumps is going to be a task in itself.

 

[Jit]

my opinion u cant go to soemone and say maybe a great player say u captian thats is like hell captain needs to be brave need to be agresiive not like dravid who is too defensive on field even sky sports commenters said when indian players played under soruav ganguly they had more agression more passion more wins tand that was true thats y he was succesful captian we saw that oval dravid just wanted to win the series not take any chance made a stupid reason even zahher said he was ready to go so u see my captian option gotta be sourav ganguly and people say he gonna 1 more year how the hell he is fit he doesnt get cramps maybe fiedeling hes ok and at batting superb now another problem batting order dravid sucks at that we saw in world cup sahcin abtting no 4 sachin always bat at no 1 so tahts y dravid sucks not brave no agression

 

[Cricketman]

you need to not post in all bold with all this wierd typos and bold print and use some effing periods for gods skae cuz its rell hrd to read when its all like this ok got it

Oh, and BTW Ganguly doesn't want to be captain anymore.

 

[harishankar]

I think there are a lot of Rahul Dravid fanboys in this thread. Let me make it clear. Just because he continues to bat well after becoming a captain, that does not make him a good captain.

He has reduced the effectiveness of the ODI side -- we have gone back a lot on the progress made during the John Wright/Ganguly era in ODI cricket... I'm saying it's partly due to his captaincy and partly due to other issues including selection issues and the lack of all-rounders...

But look at our fielding in 2002-03 and look at it now. Look at Ganguly's mode of captaincy and look at Dravid's. Where has all the aggression gone? Where has the commitment to fielding gone? Out of the window.

I am not saying that Ganguly should return as captain. That would be going two steps back.

I am saying we need a young captain in ODIs. And if senior players have ego issues playing under a young captain, they don't deserve to play for their country. Playing for India is a honour and a privilege - not a right. No matter what role they're assigned, they should be up for it.

I don't give a damn if any Rahul Dravid fanboy calls me an idiot. I would be happy if you did thus proving me right...

 

[iloveireland]

I don't think he should tep down. At least there is a good player for the role to take it. If they feel they have to change it give to to Ganguly. I think getting dropped made him toughen up

 

[RoboRocks]

Ganguly I don't think will every be captain again from all the controversy he has been through.
India need to stick with Dravid since Dhoni is not ready for test match captaincy and there is nobody else who could do a better job.

 

[smssia0112]

He definately need to step down he was the first captain under whom India was kicked out from the 1st round from World Cup : he is areally great player but definately not worth as a captian

It's either blame the captain or blame the coach isn't it? Never blame the team that lost for being a poor side.

 

[m_vaughan]

Ever since he took over as the captain,India hasnt done that well.
Unless you count the test series victories abroad.

Some of Dravid's decisions were too stupid.
Do you think he should step down and make way for a new person ?
Or Should it go back to Ganguly ?

I think Dravid should step down so that he can fully concentrate on his batting and regain the form and the consistency that had once made him the best batsman in the world.

But in terms of replacement, I dont think anyone would do be able to change the fortunes of the current Indian side. I would not vote for Ganguly, because as good a captain as he was, he is going to retire sooner or later, and India should be looking much beyond that.

Yuvraj Singh would make a horrible captain, and so would Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

 

[harishankar]

It's either blame the captain or blame the coach isn't it? Never blame the team that lost for being a poor side.

Well, we're blaming the team and the captain... but that's beside the point. We're discussing captaincy here and I believe that regardless of team performance as a whole, Dravid hasn't delivered as a leader -- and he's had plenty of opportunity to do so.

Yuvraj Singh would make a horrible captain, and so would Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Care to explain why?

 

[RoboRocks]

I think Vaughany has a point.
They don't seem to have great leadership qualities by looking at them, they are both very good players but I don't see them out-smarting somebody as captain.

 

[harishankar]

I think Vaughany has a point.
They don't seem to have great leadership qualities by looking at them, they are both very good players but I don't see them out-smarting somebody as captain.

I agree that Dhoni might not fit the bill yet, but surely after all these years of experience Yuvraj should be ready to take over the role as captain. And I also think he has an aggressive and positive streak that was present in Ganguly too.

A year or so ago I would have recommended Sehwag for the job, but he seems to have fallen by the wayside at least for now.

 

[m_vaughan]

I agree that Dhoni might not fit the bill yet, but surely after all these years of experience Yuvraj should be ready to take over the role as captain. And I also think he has an aggressive and positive streak that was present in Ganguly too.

A year or so ago I would have recommended Sehwag for the job, but he seems to have fallen by the wayside at least for now.

Sehwag, if he was still in form and in the team, would be the ideal replacement. From what I've seen in recent matches, Yuvraj and Dhoni hardly seem to take part in any sort of team discussions during the game. Its usually the bowler, Dravid, Sachin and Ganguly.

Dhoni, I'm afraid, has shown nothing that would make one feel he would be a good leader. Yuvraj definately has a better thinking end now, but just being aggressive will not make you a Ganguly, who was a champion in analysing situations and delivering the correct response. He was a great captain, so good that India are actually struggling to find his replacement. Forget the results and stats, but normal viewing and observation can tell you that Dravid is nowhere near a good leader as Ganguly, largely because of his inability to take big decisions.

Probably one of the bowlers deserve a chance to be given the responsibilty (Zaheer Khan maybe?). I hate the fact that its usually always batsmen who are always considered.

There is always the chance that the added responsibility might affect your performance as a player, but then, someone has to take it.

 

[harishankar]

I wasn't saying that Yuvraj is a Ganguly. Not by a long shot. But he has the right elements in him to become a good captain and leader. And he could well lead India in 2011 provided his form and fitness remain with him. I don't see any other long-term prospect at present to be honest.

Dravid never had that kind of image. He got the captaincy by default because we had run out of senior players to give the captaincy to (and Laxman was by no means a fixture in the ODI side).

 

[m_vaughan]

I think its pretty evident that India dont have any obvious leaders at the moment, and will have to hope that the likes of Yuvraj or Dhoni rise up to the challenge and deliver.

It is wrong to judge before being given a chance, but right now, I dont think I would really expect a lot from any of the potential candidates.