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Should Rahul Dravid bat at number three?
The Offside
The number three spot is a pivotal slot in any game of cricket - be it
Tests or one-dayers. From the early days of the game, it is a position
that has been occupied by some of the greatest names the game ever
produced - Sir Don Bradman, Neil Harvey, Sir Viv Richards to name a
few. That spot is now up for grabs in the Indian team, with VVS Laxman
being ruled out due to injury. With this being the case, India must
put their best foot forward by sending Rahul Dravid at the number
three slot.
Having lost the first Test at Galle, the Indians cannot afford to
stumble in the remaining two Tests of the Sri Lankan tour.
Unfortunately for skipper Sourav Ganguly, youngsters like Hemang
Badani have not delivered the goods. Mohammed Kaif, playing just the
second Test of his fledgling career was thrust into the role in the
first Test. His inexperience was exploited to the hilt by the Sri
Lankans, who dismissed him for 37 and 14 in two innings.
With the openers struggling to score at a good pace, it is crucial
that an experienced campaigner steps in to stem the rot in case a
wicket falls. Rahul Dravid has done the job in the past. In 34 Tests
batting at number three, Dravid has scored over 2700 runs at an
average of over 57. Most batsmen would be very happy with statistics
of this kind. Why then, should India look further than Rahul Dravid
for the number three slot?
Let's face reality. The team's cause comes above all else. There can
be no two ways about that. In this case the question that needs to be
asked, is simply this. Is India's cause best served by Rahul Dravid
batting at number three? The answer is, a wholehearted 'Yes.' And that
is precisely why Dravid must bat at number three till VVS Laxman
returns to claim his place.
The Evidence:
The Onside
There is absolutely no point in wasting your best cricketer early on.
Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly have both been incapacitated by
injury. Sourav Ganguly is woefully out of form. With this being the
situation, India can ill afford to sacrifice a batsman of the calibre
of Rahul Dravid. Sure, he has the ability to hold fort at number
three. However, he is far more productive if he comes in to bat at number
six, and that is a point that is hard to dispute.
With the openers being anything but solid, Dravid is likely to be
exposed very early on. This is precisely what Sanath Jayasuriya and
Sri Lanka will be hoping for. The last thing the Indians need to do is
play into the hands of the Sri Lankans. If Dravid comes to the wicket
early on and is dismissed, there is little hope for the Indian team.
Most importantly, one cannot afford to shuffle a player of Dravid's
class around in the batting order. In doing so, one can easily disturb
the mindset of a class cricketer. It is a known fact that batting in
Test cricket requires one to be at the peak of one's mental abilities
concentration and caution being the watchwords. If Dravid is ill at
ease batting at number three, he is unlikely to do any better than his
counterparts.
Conversely, it has been established without a shadow of doubt that
Dravid is a success at the number six slot. In six Test matches,
Dravid averages a mammoth 81 at number six. This includes the epochal
180 against Australia at Kolkata. If India have to turn things around
in this series against Sri Lanka, someone will have to play a big
role. Give Rahul Dravid that chance at number six.
The Evidence:
Archive
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