Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting claims that he persuaded Rahul Dravid against retiring when the Indian batsman was written off after a string of low scores last year. Ponting also said that Dravid reciprocated the support by inspiring him during his lean patch.
Dravid, the lone Indian batsman to perform well in the team’s recent 0-4 Test whitewash at the hands of England with 461 runs, was woefully out of form last year and Ponting said he encouraged the veteran right-hander to carry on despite the criticism.
“I remember after our last series in India there was a lot of talk and speculation about Dravid being finished,” Ponting told ‘ESPNcricinfo’. “I actually went and found him at the end of the series and said ‘don’t you even think about retiring’ because I just saw some stuff in a few of his innings that suggested he was still a very, very good player.
“I just said ‘don’t let them wear you down, don’t let them get you down’. I received a similar text message before and after the Ashes from him as well,” he added.
The 36-year-old Ponting has not scored a Test century since January last year but he is confident of regaining his touch and he is looking upto Dravid for inspiration.
“There are a few (who provide an inspiration for batsmen of advancing years). Sachin (Tendulkar) and (Jacques) Kallis both had a great last year; Dravid is doing well now.
“It’s not only good for guys of my age to see guys doing that, it’s good for the younger blokes to see it as well; to know that if you keep doing the right things and working hard, and if you’ve got talent, then age is not a barrier in our game,” he said.
Speaking about the state of the game in general, Ponting said he is worried about the impact of Twenty20 on youngsters. “The big worry I’ve had about Twenty20 cricket and even other shorter forms of the game being played at really developmental times in kids’ careers is that it won’t teach them the art of concentration.
“Cricket for me when I was growing up meant batting until someone got me out, and if that took them a week then that’s how long it took them,” he said.
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Dravid, the lone Indian batsman to perform well in the team’s recent 0-4 Test whitewash at the hands of England with 461 runs, was woefully out of form last year and Ponting said he encouraged the veteran right-hander to carry on despite the criticism.
“I remember after our last series in India there was a lot of talk and speculation about Dravid being finished,” Ponting told ‘ESPNcricinfo’. “I actually went and found him at the end of the series and said ‘don’t you even think about retiring’ because I just saw some stuff in a few of his innings that suggested he was still a very, very good player.
“I just said ‘don’t let them wear you down, don’t let them get you down’. I received a similar text message before and after the Ashes from him as well,” he added.
The 36-year-old Ponting has not scored a Test century since January last year but he is confident of regaining his touch and he is looking upto Dravid for inspiration.
“There are a few (who provide an inspiration for batsmen of advancing years). Sachin (Tendulkar) and (Jacques) Kallis both had a great last year; Dravid is doing well now.
“It’s not only good for guys of my age to see guys doing that, it’s good for the younger blokes to see it as well; to know that if you keep doing the right things and working hard, and if you’ve got talent, then age is not a barrier in our game,” he said.
Speaking about the state of the game in general, Ponting said he is worried about the impact of Twenty20 on youngsters. “The big worry I’ve had about Twenty20 cricket and even other shorter forms of the game being played at really developmental times in kids’ careers is that it won’t teach them the art of concentration.
“Cricket for me when I was growing up meant batting until someone got me out, and if that took them a week then that’s how long it took them,” he said.
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