It was like bereavement: Rahul Dravid on IPL spot-fixing

quotI would not lie it was a very tough phase for us It was a blow to the team It39s something I have never experienced anything like it It39s like bereavement in some waysquot Dravid told reporters after his team beat Sunrisers Hyderabad to enter the second qualifier of the IPL here last night Rajasthan Royals secured a fourwicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in a thrilling low scoring 39Eliminator39 to book their place in the second Qualifier where they will be meeting the mighty Mumbai Indians in Kolkata Dravid for the first time seemed like opening up to the fixing chapter as he talked about the subject and allowed his emotions to flow RR were a team gone haywire after three of its players including India pacer S Sreesanth were arrested by the Delhi Police for indulging in spotfixing Rahul Dravid Pic Atul Kamble quotYou feel real sadness disappointment and anger There are so many emotions We had a day after the Mumbai Indians match and the next day we were playing Sunrisers in Hyderabad and everyone was in a daze It was a difficult week for all of usquot he saidu00a0 Dravid informed that two days they spent in Jaipur after their match against Sunrisers Hyderabad helped them unwind and engage in quothonestquot discussion with each other quotI think the two days we had in Jaipur after that game was fantastic We spent twothree days in Jaipur and there were some really open honest conversations among the players among the coaching staff quotA lot of emotions were shared In some ways it was amazing for me to see the way they came out and expressed their feelings There was range of emotions that we had experienced over the last few daysquot he said The former India skipper thanked Royals coach Paddy Upton and the support staff for reuniting the group just ahead of the crucial playoff stage quotPaddy and the coaching staff slowly handled this campaign We knew we had four days and we gave a couple of days to people to let go emotions We started focussing on the team day before yesterday and then zeroed down our focus on to this gamequot Dravid said quotWe enjoyed our time in Jaipur just the night before the game we landed in the city Delhi I can39t thank my support staff enough Paddy and his team and everyone around the Rajasthan Royals The way they managed the last four days was greatquot he added Throwing more light on Upton39s role in shaping up the team Dravid said he had always wanted to work with the Indian team39s former mental conditioning coach on a quotoneononequot basis quotPaddy has been really useful He has been fantastic for us Not only in the last week but I think the whole tournament I was always very keen on working with Paddy working with him on a oneonone basis We are glad that he39s been with us this year he was the performance director of Pune Warriors in IPL 2012 quotThe boys have really enjoyed Paddy39s company They have loved him so many guys came up to me and said he is fantastic Paddy has played a great role in creating a good team environment quotWe have a very small support staff Zubin Barucha and Monty Desai Royals coach for the last two IPL seasons just three of them They are our unsung heroes and add so much value to the side We don39t believe in having bowling coaches and fielding coaches These people have done a fantastic job for usquot he added Dravid said the win against Sunrisers Hyderabad was important for the team after what had happened over a last couple of days quotIt was an important win regardless of what has happened It39s the knockout stage of the tournament you lose and you pack your bags and go home There are no second chances in these types of games It39s nice to get over the line and win the game We are still alive in the tournamentquot he said The 40yearold also lavished praise on T20 specialist Brad Hodge for the way he anchored Rajasthan39s victory over Sunrisers with his brilliant unbeaten 29ball 54 quotWe needed something special I think we were dead and buried We needed something absolutely special and Brad Hodge provided that I think it was one of the finest T20 innings in a lowscoring game chasing the target I have ever seen We needed something special and Hodge39s innings was specialquot he said On fielding an allpace attack for the match despite knowing the slow nature of the surface here Dravid said quotI would make a joke if I tell you the truth We were short of spinners for various reasons We had Praveen Tambe injured as well in fact we did not have anybody to choose fromquot quotIt was not an ideal combination for this track but the game shows our resilience We knew an ideal scenario should have been playing a spinner but with injury to Praveen we did not have that option also I think the bowlers did a really good job to restrict them to 133 They were a dangerous team and our team did a good jobquot he said Asked about their next match against the formidable Mumbai Indians Dravid said quotMumbai are never easy they are a very good side There are all stars There39s nothing to lose go out there have some fun and see what happensquot Dravid said if they win the tournament it would be a fairytale for Rajasthan Royals Dravid who was popularly hailed as the quotThe Wall of Indian Cricketquot said he will decide on his future as a cricketer after the IPL gets over Rajasthan along with CSK and Mumbai Indians have qualified for the Champions League with today39s win quotI don39t know there are couple of games I have not given it a thought that this would be my last IPL and there would be no more cricket after this There is couple of months39 time before the Champions Leaguequot Dravid said quotI don39t know let me finish this T20 tournament then I will sit down with the franchise and see what they want to do But I am also mindful of the fact that we also need to start looking ahead as a franchise as well Let39s seequot he added Dravid also described the sixth season of the IPL as a fruitful one for the franchise as they were able to find some new talents like Sanju Samson among others quotIt39s been a really good season from that point of view whenever we found ourselves on the backfoot whenever we found ourselves in trouble somebody has stood up put his hands up I think that largely also due to the environment created around the team it39s been a really good team environment quotI would like to believe that youngsters feel pretty comfortable out there there39s not much of a pressure we don39t have big stars there are not many people breathing down their necks we have given them a lot of freedom we have given them a clarity of roles what each one has to play That makes easier for them to performquot he signed off u00a0