Thaindian News

Sydney, Oct.4 (ANI): There was a time, when the Australians could not help feeling that Indian middle-order batsman Rahul Dravid had lost the ability to hit the ball. They felt he looked exhausted while batting for an eternity, and it was only his awesome record at the crease that alone protected him from the condemnation.

Not anymore, feels columnist Peter Roebuck. According to him, his participation in Twenty20 cricket over the last three years has rejuvenated him.

“Far from withdrawing, Dravid has rallied so impressively that all talk of ditching him has ceased. He has looked slim, alert and accomplished. It’s been an impressive comeback. But, then, sport is about the rise and fall of man,” says Roebuck in a column for the Sydney Morning Herald.

Roebuck says that exposure to 20-over cricket has given India’s most cerebral of batsman a new lease of life.

“Obligated to represent Bangalore by contract and by a sportsman’s natural desire to be in the thick of the action, Dravid has developed a variety of improvised strokes, and before long, was playing his part in his team’s triumphs,” Roebuck says.

He has been hitting the ball again, and scampering between wickets and clouting rude boundaries. The confidence has returned, and he has remembered that cricket is just a game.

Roebuck says that Dravid’s batting has not changed much over the years.

“His success has always depended not so much on style or shot selection as precision,” says Roebuck.

Roebuck concludes by saying that Dravid’s name ought to be mentioned whenever talk turns to the great batsmen of the era and adds that he endures because he respects the game and its skills. (ANI)