The decision was wrong…. Review on Was Rahul Dravid justified in declaring the Indian innings - Case For 'No'

But Dravid was not! That’s because Dravid is not solely responsible for making such decisions. All we intelligent souls know well enough that it’s always a collective decision, at times (or may be most of the times) with the involvement of outside interests, so making Dravid a subject of controversy is completely irrational.

However, coming to the decision, I think, it is completely wrong and unfortunate. We have so many times seen players getting their chances to achieve their personal landmarks, accentuated even further to extended life spans in the game (remember Kapil Dev?), then why not Sachin? Moreover, if the need to declare was so indispensable, then why wait till Yuvraj gets out? Decision could have been taken much earlier; I don’t see any magic in the figure “675”.

However, I feel, more than the decision, eyebrows are being rose on the conduct of Sachin i.e. his talking to the press. Well….I doesn’t find anything wrong in it. A team is an amalgamation of different individuals with their personal aspirations, so is the case with a cricket team. The very reason a team is constructed is to fulfill the aspirations of its member and also, in some cases, other affected interest groups. In any team, it’s not only the responsibility of an individual to fulfill teams’ needs; it’s also the responsibility of the team to fulfill its member’s aspiration. And, being member of the team, if you find that you are being unreasonably sidelined or your performances are being disparaged, then it becomes your duty towards yourself to raise concerns. One can’t be just to others if he is not just to himself! And this is what Sachin did, though very mildly. His expressing surprise in front of media can’t be construed as an act of transgression. Sachin’s talking to media might have given surprises to the team management, but, I think they deserved it.

However, there is another aspect to this issue i.e. the justification of the decision in the higher interest of countrymen. Well…it’s reasonable to expect a player to bow to the needs of his benefactors i.e. countrymen (and there is no patriotism involved in it). But, before he does that, he needs to confirm that whether the actions are really derived from the feelings of countrymen. Initial reaction of any sensible individual in a state of doubt will be a surprise, the case with Sachin too. So, where is the controversy? Is talking to Media bad? Well, I think, there is no relation between Sachin’s conduct and his attitude towards country. It’s an unnecessarily propagated issue.