The Buck Stops With The Captain But Rahul Dravid Faces Flak

Rahul Dravid is facing flak for India’s dismal results across all formats. Rohit Sharma is the captain of the team and he too was at the butt of criticism for poor decisions in the WTC final against Australia. Not only on the count of results but also on their choice of playing XIs and tactics, the captain and coach are praised or pilloried. Both assumed long-term roles after India’s disappointing work in the ICC Twenty20 World Cup in the winter of 2021. Dravid’s report card is: Tests played 17, won 9, lost 5, drawn 3 for a 54% success rate. In ODIs, the numbers are: played 36, won 23, lost 11, NR 2 for a 63.89% success rate and in the Twenty20s it is: played 50, won 35, lost 13, NR and Tied one each for a 70% success rate. Dravid was not the coach in a few odd white ball matches. India flopped in three major events — the Asia Cup in the UAE, Twenty20 World Cup in Australia and the ICC WTC final at The Oval.  Usually, the buck stops with the captain, but Dravid is seen as a party to the collateral damage caused; in this case, he could not win the blue riband ICC events. Both Sharma and Dravid will look forward to a happier end in the home World Cup, come October-November.