Rahul Dravid has urged that a system needs to be in place where every IPL franchise sticks to the salary caps, says a report in The Indian Express. There had been reports earlier how some of the IPL franchises offered some domestic players amounts way in excess of their salary cap. There were murmurs too of some franchises paying money under the table and gifting luxurious cars to buy out uncapped players in the team.
"I think one thing you have to ensure is that every team sticks to the salary caps. That's a critical thing in this tournament. Why the IPL succeeds in some ways is that any one of the eight or nine teams can actually do well. If you reach a situation, and we are getting closer and closer to that, where in all the resources are with the big teams like in the English Premier League then I think the IPL will lose its charm. One of the charms of this competition has been the success of teams like the Sunrisers and the Rajasthan Royals," Dravid told The Indian Express.
Dravid felt that right balance was maintained in the early years where each team had a mix of international (Indian and overseas) players and domestic uncapped players. "Lots of teams in the IPL these days have only international players and no domestic players. That's not good for the system. You have to ensure a system where even the big teams are forced to play domestic, uncapped players and I think the only way you can do that is by limiting the salary cap and ensuring that everyone sticks to it," the former India captain stated.
According to an article in Hindustan Times, Dravid is shuffling the pack of cards very often and very quickly. While most teams are reluctant to experiment too much with the batting order, etc, Dravid hasn’t played an identical batting order in two consecutive games. He’s also identified Watson as their most important man in the batting order.
“So, if it’s Steyn in the opposition, Dravid opens the batting to negate his threat. But if they’re playing against Knight Riders at Eden Gardens, Watson opens the innings because the first six overs and new ball is the best time to score. In the same game, Dravid demoted himself to No 8, for he knew that to score on that sluggish pitch against spinners, you either needed a southpaw or players with more brute strength. Hence, Dishant Yagnik wasn't only played alongside Sanju Samson (both can keep wickets) but also promoted in the batting order,” says the article, adding that then, against Mumbai, Dravid didn’t even come out to bat because the need of the hour was big hitters.
“Putting the team ahead of himself comes naturally to Dravid. Rahul’s view has been to pick the right personnel and empower them.”