Friday, May 30, 2008

'Flops in IPL but Sachin, Sourav, Dravid not spent force'

They may have been a flop in the Indian Premier League but Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly cannot be called a spent force as the veteran trio still has 2-3 years of international cricket left in them, say former Indian Test greats.

Tendulkar (Mumbai Indians), Ganguly (Kolkata Knight Riders) and Dravid (Royal Challangers Bangalore) are the captains and icon players of their teams.

After their failure to lead their teams to the semifinals questions are being raised about their utility at a time when younsters like Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina and Yousuf Pathan have strongly made their case by performing in the IPL.

Former selector Anshuman Gaekwad believes that the future of this trio depends on their fitness.
Form follows if players are fit enough. Class is permanent while form is temporary and you cannot question their class. They can play international cricket for next two-three years," said the former captain.

Former Test player Karsan Ghavari opined that Ganguly, Tendulkar and Dravid must improve their fielding to match the younger lot of Indian cricket.

Former selector Kirti Azad also felt that fitness and form and not age should be the criteria to select a team.

Ganguly scored 349 runs in his 13 IPL innings. He was adjudged man of the match twice. He is also one of the most economical bowlers of the tournament at a rate of 6.40 and has six wickets in his kitty.

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