Guys at the bottom worst affected: Rahul Dravid

Guys at the bottom worst affected: Rahul Dravid: Rajasthan Royals (RR) team mentor and current India A coach Rahul Dravid chose not to comment on the wisdom of the judges of the Lodha committee and refused to be drawn in discussions whether the verdict was a bit harsh on the teams. Addressing the media on Friday, ahead of India A’s 4 day fixture with South Africa A, Rahul mentioned that it’s disappointing that people at the bottom of the tree suffer the most. Without going into the specifics of the verdict, Dravid made it clear that it was a huge blow and would affect “everyone involved with Indian cricket”.

Dravid said, “I don’t want to make firm judgments on people, but it’s disappointing that the actions of one or two can have an impact on so many, “Not only me, but generally in a situation like this, the people at the bottom of the pyramid are the ones who are most affected.

“The top players and coaches always find stuff to do afterwards. It’s not difficult for top players to be picked by other franchises. However, the young players who don’t easily get an opportunity, they miss out. I feel disappointed for them, but we respect the decision the court has taken. In my opinion, not everyone at Rajasthan Royals or Chennai Super Kings are bad. There are lots of very, very good people.”

The SC-appointed Committee on Tuesday suspended RR and CSK for two years in a landmark judgment in the IPL spot-fixing scandal that has brought Indian cricket into disrepute, but Dravid said action of a few individuals shouldn’t hurt others. I don’t want to defend myself and it’s up to people to decide whether it’s [IPL scandal] a blot Dravid told reporters.

He believes that the judges who gave the verdict would have done so after a lot of thought and felt that despite deterrents such as these, the clean-up operation would not be complete overnight. “It’s not for me to decide whether it was harsh. Judges would have put a lot of thought into it. They have a lot more understanding than I do. I have to respect the decision that they have taken, but it’s tough on the league”.

The perennial question which everybody is asking whether Rahul Dravid, in capacity as the Coach and Mentor of RR; was absolutely unaware of the mess in the IPL while he was there? He denied any knowledge of any wrongdoing under his watch and regretted not knowing it before.

“I wish I had known three players (S Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila) were doing something suspicious. I would have dealt with it. I had no clue about what was going on. I spoke to Mudgal Commission about this,” said Dravid in his first press conference after taking over as coach of the India ‘A’ team.

People know what spot-fixing is. It’s difficult to know, even if in same team, if people are involved in spot-fixing. If I were to doubt every single wide or four, I would lose all my love and interest in the game. Any team I coach, I don’t go into it suspecting people every time they get hit for a four. I had absolutely no clue, and I’ve spoken to the Mudgal commission about that. What people do in their private lives, I personally feel it’s difficult for mentors and coaches to know what decisions they are making.”

Speaking about the upcoming series Dravid sounded optimistic and excited about the opportunity to train a bunch of youngsters who will later make a name for themselves in the international arena. “I enjoyed my days as an India A player and hope to translate some of that experience to the next generation”.