11 September,2009 07:10 AM IST | | Trevor Chesterfield
Comeback man Rahul Dravid is set to revive India's middle order by batting at number three in today's tri-series opener against kiwis
India's coach Gary Kirsten's enthusiasm has been quiet palpable since the team's arrival in Sri Lanka for the triangular series.
Former captain Rahul Dravid is back in the side. That statement alone is so important to India's longer-term options in the months ahead. He is batting at No 3 in not only today's first game against New Zealand, but also for this series and the Champions Trophy in South Africa.
Dravid has been designated by Kirsten to bat at three and play an important role in stabilising the middle-order in this 50-overs ODI format of the game, and at a venue with its notorious and precarious pitches, where the luck of calling the toss correctly can decide the outcome of the game. It is a gamble losing the toss and batting second, but with Dravid back at three, he is the ideal man to link the flamboyant exigencies and tempo set by the top-order to bring calm and artistic skill to the batting areas India need to develop to create a winning formula in the side.
It is easy to understand why Kirsten is pleased to see Dravid back in the side. The two men, although different in styles, brought the firmness that is needed to imbue younger players with the type of skills needed to bring the best out of Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni himself, Suresh Raina and Yusuf Pathan.
For the past two years, an Indian team without Dravid created any number of identity problems for those who have followed the fortunes of the side since The Wall first made an impact on the game in England in 1996. And despite the lack of runs and for some form, his absence has had an unhealthy effect on the development of India's nascent middle-order aspirations.
At a time when he was needed to help rebuild the side for the next generation and World Cup, he was missing because the selection policy was shorted-sighted. This has not been about form or lack of runs but about selectors picking and choosing without a forward policy; they are not that clairvoyant to think they know it all.
The game has changed dramatically this past decade and India needed someone who has been involved in the changing face of the game to help the youngsters understand the requirements to fill the bigger picture, and also have someone who knows how to act as a mentor. Those who know and understand Dravid's ethic would know he is not yet ready to give up the game because of pushy selectors.
