No rift in team, says Dravid

Senior batsman Rahul Dravid has dismissed claims of a rift in the Indian camp ahead of the third Test against Australia starting Friday in Perth.

Senior batsman Rahul Dravid has dismissed claims of a rift in the Indian camp ahead of the third Test against Australia starting Friday in Perth. Reports in the Australian media, fuelled by India's limp performances in the first two Tests of the series, have suggested there are growing tensions between captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and opener Virender Sehwag.


Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni with Team India during a huddle. Pic/ AFP

Sehwag, one of the most dangerous players in world cricket, has scored just 108 runs in all as the Indians slid to a 2-0 deficit. The 39-year-old Dravid said the opener's poor form had nothing to do with his relationship with the skipper.

"When you are 0-2 down, this is what happens," Dravid said. "Nothing seems right but there is no truth to those comments. There's a sense of disappointment with the results so far ufffd we would certainly like to do better ufffd but the spirit of the team is very good."

Dravid said the tourists were determined to ensure the series was not a repeat of their previous overseas tour, a 0-4 whitewash at the hands of England last year. Meanwhile, former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has urged India to embrace the ICC's Decision Review System (DRS). DRS is designed to remove obvious umpiring errors, but it is not being used in this series after India controversially vetoed its use.

Ponting said he was disappointed that DRS wasn't being used for all Test series. "As international players, one thing you strive for is uniformity around the world and right at the moment we haven't got that," he said. "We played one series against South Africa where you're using a certain system and then a couple of weeks later you're not using that system.

"When it first came in, my understanding was it was going to be used in every series and it hasn't turned out that way. "The system is not always perfect, but the bottom line is we are actually getting more correct decisions as a result of using the system than we are with not using the system, and that has got to be great for the game."

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!