Why is it always Laxman? Why Not Dravid???

Surprised to see lots of former cricketers backing Kohli to retain his spot despite his abysmal performance and Laxman should pave way for the debut of Rohit Sharma. Not sure if this would happen, but there  is another group hurt by the would be injustice to Laxman for getting the raw deal all the time. Though I wish India to rest both the senior pros for young Rahane and Rohit Sharma, in reality it will be Kohli’s turn to bench.

Let us say in a hypothetical world, if the Team Management decides to rest one of the two biggie, it should still be Laxman is my opinion. Is it because Laxman has poor average than Dravid in the past 1 year? Is it because Laxman appear aged than Dravid? Is it because Laxman is the least athletic memer of the team? My point of defence for Dravid is little different which might sound illogical to many. Batsman like Tendulkar, Laxman, Sehwag, Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh are all gifted cricketers with exceptional talent. If Tendulkar is God’s own child, Sehwag is blessed with an immaculate hand eye coordination that needs no feet movement whatsoever, while the very very special wrists speak volumes for itself. From my viewpoint, the above said players were destined to play cricket, but Dravid’s a completely different tale. Dravid is a normal cricketer with usual talent who made all the way to the elite group because of sheer hard work, work ethics, above all passion for the game. 9 out of 10 cricketers you see in the domestic circuit are most likely to emulate Dravid. I meant, playing the game by book. Rahul Dravid is the symbol of hope for every common cricketer who with hard work and passion can scale great heights. Just for this one reason, I will give Dravid an extra mile ahead of even Tendulkar.

Anyways, we will know who will make the cut into the playing XI in a couple of days from now. Coming to India’s chances at Perth, if at all India can win a Test Match in Aussie Soil, it can happen only in Perth. The Trio of Zaheer, Ishanth & Yadav appear potent than Siddle, Hillfenhaus and Starc in extremely bowler friendly conditions. Though Aussies won the 2nd Test comfortably, the batting line up is still vulnerable. Also with Kangaroos focussing too much on mind games, there is a good chance for upset.

Now that Sehwag is rolling his arm regularly, India will be tempted to play the 4^th seamer.  In all probability, India should field the following XI

Gambir, Sehwag, Dravid, Tendulkar, Laxman, Rohit Sharma, Dhoni, Zaheer Khan, Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Mithun

Bottom line: Get ready for Indian Victory

Dinesh

Cricket Lover