Open letter to skipper Dravid

Dear Rahul, You have been India's unsung hero for long, slamming tons, playing match-winning innings and keeping wickets. But somehow your effort, gigantic, at times is overshadowed by lesser achievements of your more glamorous teammates. Now is your chance! With Sourav cooling his heels in the dressing room for six matches, you have the opportunity of a lifetime to lead the team and force the selectors to see beyond Ganguly for captaincy.Mind you, the job is not going to be easy. Ganguly might be suffering from an acute loss of form but he scores big time when it comes to leading Team India. The selectors have not made your job easy for the next two one-dayers against Pakistan. It is inexplicable as to why S Sriram has replaced Ganguly with VVS Laxman waiting in the wings. Were you even consulted before the replacements were announced? But matching wits with the selectors is an occupational hazard that comes with the job and is something that you will have to live with. Having said that, you will enjoy the services of Anil Kumble and somehow, I think more by default than by reason, the selectors have got it right. On pitches loaded with runs for the one-day series, Kumble who dries up the runs is a great asset to have in the bowling arsenal. So now let's put our heads together and see how you can make a bloody good captain. For starters, do not try to emulate Ganguly. Both of you guys are poles apart and you have to find your own distinctive style to get results from your minions. One does not expect you to come out with a winner like Dhoni in every match. The idea is to be consistent (which comes naturally to you as a batsman), play to your strengths and imbibe confidence and the winning habit in the team (your toughest task). Ganguly was all fire and brimstone and it worked for the team with the rest of the players getting infected by the skipper's sense of urgency. But that does not mean that a cool and composed cricketer like you cannot get the same or better results. A case in point is Inzamam-ul-Haq. Perhaps one of the worst communicators in the game, both while running between wickets and taking stock in the middle, Inzamam is as cool as they come. A total antithesis to the Ganguly brand of captaincy, Inzy has prospered by concentrating on his batting and at the same time handling his team with kid gloves. Please do not make the mistake that most India skippers make - you are a batsman first and then a skipper. Do not let your priorities get entangled. Your value to the team comes when you score and in the process if a few captaincy decisions suffer, so be it. Runs on the board are always a better bet than worrying your head silly over what could have been! Rahul Dravid is the new skipper of Team India You have had a shot at captaincy in the past and done a commendable job. Out of the 10 ODI matches that you have captained in, India have won 5 while a match against New Zealand ended in no result. Under you India have beaten Zimbabwe (twice), Sri Lanka, West Indies and Australia. But the flip side is that you have scored only 263 runs in these 10 matches at an average of 29.22! So, you are no stranger to the situation that most Indian captains find themselves in - team wins but personal form suffers. The problem areas that you have to iron out are as follows: 1. Somehow, manage to win the toss and bat first! 2. You have to insure that the dependency of Sehwag is short-lived. You are lucky that Sachin got 123 and seems back in form. 3. Make the team believe that they can chase huge totals. Ensure that no matter what the target, India at least bats the full 50 overs when batting second. 4. The last 10 overs are proving to be a problem for India. They are not fetching enough runs even when wickets are in hand. 5. The bowling has to be a lot more disciplined. The pace battery has been guilty of trying just too much. Stick to the McGrath School of bowling - wicket to wicket! 6. Try to lead by example. A skipper that scores is the best possible aphrodisiac for the rest of the team. If you manage to get sort out these issues, India will win more matches. You have been "Mr Dependable", the troubleshooter for India, now is the time to graduate a few levels and wear the crown of Indian captaincy with confidence. There are millions of Indians backing you up. Just do it! Wishing you all the best.