No meaning if you play foul, Dravid says

JAIPUR: It's always difficult to gauge what's going on in Rahul Dravid's mind. He rarely shows his emotions on the field, or off it. In times of happiness or crisis, The Wall remains calm and composed as ever.

And now, despite the Rajasthan Royals entering the semifinals of the Champions League T20, the captain isn't ready to give a peak into the state of his mind. Ask him about their plans for the semifinals, and he plays it straight saying they will stick to the basics.

Interacting with budding cricketers at the Neerja Modi School on Wednesday, Dravid hinted that the Royals would go into the semifinal just like any another important game.

"It's been a challenging time for cricket with so many incidents happening at the last IPL, which also involved some Rajasthan Royals players. In such times, the spirit of the game becomes more relevant and important," the captain said.

Referring to the spot-fixing scandal, Dravid said: "It is important that you play within rules and in right spirit of the game. Winning and succeeding has no meaning if you play foul."

Dravid gave full credit to Royals players for being able to deliver the goods. "No matter how many strategies you plan if a bowler bowls on the leg when field is on off, it won't work. We have given the confidence to the players and it has worked so far," the captain said.

But Dravid said he is impressed with the way veteran leggie Pravin Tambe has bowled. "He hadn't played much in this format of the game, and during the IPL we had told him to work on a few areas. Now, coming back after three months, he has really impressed. It's an incredible story," Dravid said.

"But it has been a good journey for us. We were beaten in the semifinals of IPL-VI but now we have another chance. We know things would become more difficult in the knockout stage," Dravid said.

But will there by any special strategy to tame the opponents? "There would be no special preparations and we will stick to our normal routine," the skipper pointed out.

The former India captain, who has always given top priority to the spirit of the game, feels it's important to play hard and play fair. Referring to the MCC tagline, Dravid says the spirit of the game has become more relevant and important in the wake of the IPL spot-fixing scandal.

Dravid mum on NCA move: While there's a buzz that the BCCI may appoint Rahul Dravid as the next director of the National Cricket Academy, Dravid dismissed it by saying, "I don't know anything about it."

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Shweta Pandey

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