As Sachin Tendulkar prepares to walk into the sunset, a question mark remains over who will take over the No. 4 slot in the India line-up. Former India captain Rahul Dravid feels it will take some time to fill the void left by Tendulkar’s retirement, says a report in Hindustan Times.
“There are some good, young, talented players. When you look at what Virat has been able to do in One-day cricket and even in Tests, it is quite exceptional. You have got a Virat or a Rohit, Rahane, Raina, so many of these young guys pushing for slots. It is going to be interesting to see which one of them can hold onto a permanent slot for a while,” Dravid told reporters at a promotional event here on Sunday.
“India’s one-day batting is as good as I have ever seen it. It’s sensational, the top six, seven they have at the moment. So it is just a question of some of these young guys being able to fill in,” he added.
According to a report in India Today website, Dravid said, "India has options. But we will have to give them time. Anybody won't become Tendulkar overnight. It took time to become Tendulkar," Dravid tells Headlines Today.
Someone will have to bat no.4 in South Africa late this year. Whether he will be as good is another story. The key lies, Dravid says in not looking for a Tendulkar. "We have good cricketers. We are seeing in one day cricket. Virat kohli and Rohit Sharma are there. I am not saying they are Tendulkars but they will get time to make their name," he assures.
Fully aware of the void Tendulkar's absence will leave behind, Dravid is not overly worried. He re-winds the clock back to 1987 to reassure that Indian cricket will cope. "Life moves on. It's hard to imagine a team in Indian cricket without Tendulkar playing a part in it. Particularly test cricket. But the same was with Gavaskar at one stage. Generations were used to seeing Gavaskar. It happens. New people come in and new heroes come in and people get inspired with someone like Sachin," he reminds of Gavaskar's retirement in 1987. Sachin had not started playing for India then.
Meanwhile , putting an end to the debate over whether he would be joining politics after retirement, cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has said he has no intention of joining politics, says a report in The New Indian Express.
Responding to media reports that he would be campaigning for the Congress party during the forthcoming Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Tendulkar sent text messages to his friends in which he firmly denied any such moves. “Even after I retire from cricket, I have no intention of joining politics or being part of any political rally or campaign because my father wanted me to stay away from politics,”said Tendulkar in his message to some of his friends in Mumbai.