Former Indian captain Bishen Singh Bedi has come out in support of under-fire Indian batsmen Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, saying that both these veterans deserves respect for serving the nation for around 15 years.
Some ex-players and Indian media are demanding the retirement of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman as both these batsmen had disastrous Test series in Australia that India have lost 4-0.
“Please show some respect to the players who have served the country for so long. They have represented the country on merit and not on recommendation. Dravid and Laxman are not the products of our cricket system but rare talents that emerged despite the system. They don’t need our suggestions as to when they should retire,” Bishen Singh Bedi said.
Bedi said that Australia were well prepared than India and visitors were no match for the hosts.
“The Australian team had done their homework and were well prepared for the series. The Indian team, on the other hand, lacked the level of commitment required to perform well in such a series. The Indians were no match for Australia,” he said.
Talking about MS Dhoni’s poor captaincy in Test cricket, Bedi said, “I was never ever enamoured by Dhoni’s cricket thinking. But then India is filled with ‘hindsight critics’.
“Ten months back, Dhoni could do no wrong and now he can’t get any decision right. It’s just that decisions taken by team management didn’t click.”
Bedi believes that India could never fill the boots of Dravid and Laxman.
“In India, there would be players who would take their places eventually. But we would probably never be able to find replacements for these once-in-a-generation players,” he said.
“That’s why I get furious when people who don’t have the qualification to tie their (Laxman, Dravid) shoelaces start dissecting their performance,” Bedi said,” he added.
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