"At 41, 12 months is long, long way away. We have luckily qualified for the Champions League (September-October), and I think that will be it," Dravid said after the Royals bowed out with a loss to Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 2 on Friday, the rain-delayed match spilling deep into the night.
The spot-fixing scandal that saw three of his teammates arrested and more murky revelations surfacing in its wake, would have left a bad taste in the mouth for someone who has always held the spirit of the game close to his heart. Looking drained, the Royals skipper delved into the "difficult times" that his team, the game and he personally finds himself in.
"It was something I had never encountered before, so it was unique in that sense. We plan for a lot of things; for disappointments, for failures... and you know how to deal with that, but stuff like this comes up and you don't know," he responded at the post-match media interaction.
"It's quite challenging, but I was lucky. I think we had great character in the team and a good support staff. I am happy to have got over it in some ways, but I don't think things will ever be the same again. We had to get up and play these games, but when we get back home now, it will take time to come to terms with this."
Dravid reminded that calls for scrapping the T20 league doesn't make too much sense.
"I've always maintained that IPL is a fantastic tournament and there is no need to throw the baby out with the bathwater. I think we need to sort the issues out rather than make big statements like throwing out the tournament itself," Dravid pointed out.
"There are a lot of positives about IPL and, yes, there are challenges too as we have seen over the last 10 days or so. Not only this (fixing), but other challenges that come up from time to time and have to be dealt with. So, it's a question of correcting things that it continuously faces, like any tournament. The issue of fixing is not just about the IPL, it had hit international cricket as well. We didn't stop international cricket then."
Dravid was in Team India when the match-fixing scandal exploded in 2000. What will it take for cricket to gain the confidence and faith of fans again? "I don't know. The truth always sets you free, that's what I believe," he said. "I just hope we get to the truth, get to the bottom of it, whatever it is and however painful it may be."
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