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This article was first published 10 years ago

'Professional Royals have moved on from spot-fixing'

September 22, 2013 15:27 IST

Image: Rahul Dravid
Photographs: BCCI Rediff Sports Desk

A victory can help ease great pain. The win against IPL champions Mumbai Indians in Jaipur must have helped Rajasthan Royals confidence.

The shadow of IPL spot-fixing might still be looming large but Rajasthan Royals skipper Rahul Dravid feels his team has "moved on" and has "no hangovers" from last edition which saw S Sreesanth being arrested and subsequently handed life ban by the BCCI.

"I don't think we have a hangover from last season. We have put that behind us at the end of the last season. There had been some issues (disciplinary action against Sreesanth & co) that has been resolved. But for the 15 members and support staff in our squad, we have resolved it much before," Dravid said.

"We spoke about it (spot-fixing episode) when we came here. We discussed and acknowledged that it (spot-fixing) had happened and we decided to move on. This team has moved on and now we would like to put up a good show for our fans," Dravid said.

Dravid tells his boys to do things a bit a differently

Image: Rahul Dravid
Photographs: BCCI Rediff Sports Desk

Talking about the match, Dravid lauded his players for showing a lot of professionalism during the run-chase.

"There was calmness and professionalism during the chase. Our batsmen didn't panic and got the job done. Mumbai Indians are a good side and it's a terrific way to start the tournament."

Not having any specialist spinner in the starting XI was an "instinctive decision", according to Dravid.

For a side that doesn't have big stars, Dravid insisted that he tells his boys to do things a bit a differently.

Tags: Dravid

'Create an environment to let the youngsters express themselves'

Image: Rahul Dravid with Rajiv Shukla
Photographs: BCCI Rediff Sports Desk

"We have to clever and smart with our tactics. We realize that we don't have big names, so we need to try and do things differently. We need to surprise our opponents with our tactics. There will be days when Watto (Shane Watson) will win us a game or two but more often than not, we need to perform as a team."

Dravid was full of praise for Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA)'s long-time curator Taposh Chatterjee, who has been in charge of preparing the wickets at Sawai Man Singh Stadium.

Dravid is also happy about the fact that unlike in IPL, in this tournament, the travelling is much less.

For someone with more than 24,000 international runs across two formats, Dravid feels that it is important to help youngsters "express themselves."

"The idea is to create an environment to let the youngsters express themselves. Sometimes it works but there will be times it won't work."