It was really painful and boring to watch Rahul Dravid's struggle to find form in the first innings of the Mohali Test Match. Though he scored 136, he consumed whopping 328 deliveries making it the most boring test match innings I have seen in recent times. If not for the quick runs that came in the form of edges when he was nearing hundred, it would have taken him another full day to get to the century. These edges and a few attempted shots towards the end of his innings ensured that he had a respectable strike rate of 41.26 by the time he finished his innings. The commentators were yelling that Rahul needs to spend lot of time at the crease. Yeah! he listened to their advice and followed it strictly and in the process forgot to score runs. I was lucky that our cable operator suddenly became generous to give us Star Cricket channel and I happily watched the Australia and South Africa battle. 

Rahul Dravid, no doubt, is a great cricketer. Perhaps better than Sachin Tendulkar in terms of scoring runs when it matters most. Technically correct and has perfect temperament to play at the highest level. But it is also important for him to assess his present form, his contribution to the team and the bench strength that India has. Anil Kumble knew that his fitness wouldn't allow him to play further and Saurav Ganguly was aware that he would always be under the scanner, especially after he relinquished captaincy. For them retiring when in decent form was the best possible option to avoid putting pressure on themselves and the young players.

One cannot compare Rahul Dravid with Sachin Tendular, who has the liberty to play matches that he wishes. While Tendulkar never has been in such a bad form even in the worst of his dreams, Rahul has been going through the roughest patch over the last one year, which may impact his career average.

Already, Rahul is sidelined from the one-day cricket team and hasn't been very effective in the glamorous T20 format. As said, there are a few events or incidents that signal the coming of  an end of something. And I think Rahul's form which has eluded him during the past one year is one such sign.

I might have been a bit harsh in my first para, but I don't want to see Rahul being forced to sit out of the team. Isn't it time to reconsider your decision to continue playing Rahul?

I remember reading the word juggernaut for the first time in The Hindu daily in its sports column a decade ago. The word was used to describe the then Australian team which was securing victories at will.

The same word can now be safely used to refer the current Indian cricket team, which has made winning a habit. Just fours sessions of perfect play in Chennai took the game away from a team that displayed ten sessions of dominance.

Set up nicely by the omni-positive Virender Sehwag and guided by the team's daddy Sachin Tendukar, the victory was achieved with little trouble. While Yuvraj can breathe easy now, Rahul Dravid might think of batting down the order, for a while.

As for England, KP and his team can only wait for the day of departure.

Despite being in the Indian team for more than 10 years and playing one of the most memorable innings in the history of test cricket, VVS Laxman is still not a permanent Test member. The stylish right-hander from Hyderabad is a true successor to the disgraced Mohd. Azharuddin. Though he has contributed immensely to the Indian cricket utilizing every opportunity he is offered in both tests and one-dayers, he still sits out whenever India tries out 5 bowlers + 5 batsmen or gives chance to youngsters like Yuveraj Singh. A perfect example has been the recently concluded Bangladesh test series.

He is also under constant pressure to perform as youngsters like Kaif, Yuvraj and Raina are waiting in the wings. Remember this is not applicable to Saurav or Sachin. However, Laxman has been successful in keeping these youngsters at bay.

He is certainly better than the limited Saurav Ganguly at least in tests. Even Sachin has not been able to play an innings that could match Laxman's Kolkatta innings. He is sure to be picked up for the test squad but he is not certain to play the match until his name is announced in the final eleven. Nobody can understand this biased nature of the selection committee and the final team pickers.

Now with the England series coming up, where the conditions suit swing bowlers (I presume), India might go well 6 batsmen and use Ganguly as the fifth bowler. So, Laxman is sure to make it to the final eleven. We cannot call this an opportunity for Laxman to prove his critics wrong as anyone has hardly criticized him during his test career.

Looking at this, it seems Laxman has no way to get a permanent berth in the Indian team unless one of the big three retires. What he should do is to keep performing in every series he plays.

Hope the magician who has played the best innings by an Indian gets permanent posting orders soon.