08 August,2011 08:38 AM IST | | Sanjib Guha
The Indian selectors' call to bring Rahul Dravid back in the ODI fold after almost two years may not have surprised those following the ongoing India-England series. And it's not out of the blue for the The Wall of the Indian cricket either.
But a similar decision surprised Dravid way back in 1997, during his formative years. He was picked to tour Toronto for the Sahara Cup despite being tagged a Test player by critics.
Former India opening batsman and then coach of the national team, Anshuman Gaekwad recalled the incident.
"An astonished Dravid came up to me and asked, 'how am I in the ODI squad?' And I simply told him that given his sound technique he could play in any format ," Gaekwad told SUNDAY MiD DAY.
Gaekwad wholeheartedly backed the selectors' move of recalling the Karnataka batsman into the shorter format again. "I was not surprised by the selectors' decision to call back Rahul for England where the conditions are different and the ball does a bit. And more so because the youngsters haven't done a great job. Someone who has scored over 10,000 runs in ODIs cannot be undermined," said Gaekwad.
