Rahul Dravid said on Thursday that Sachin Tendulkar would open the Indian batting in the last two matches of the current series against South Africa — though he was quick to insist, "nothing is written in stone".
In the Greg Chappell era, with an eye on the World Cup, Tendulkar had been sent down the batting order to provide stability and an insurance against a collapse.
However, things have changed since then, and Dravid said as much on Thursday. "The personnel in that team were different from what we have in the team now," Dravid said. "You've got to keep weighing your options, to see whether they succeed or not."
"We had looked at that option with the World Cup in mind," Dravid said. "That was after looking at the various combinations we had in the team then. "And even though I might say Sachin is opening today, it doesn't mean that he's always going to open," the captain went on.
"You have to adapt to different situations. At the end of the day, if your team is winning, you don't really worry. But if things don't go right, then you look at different areas and change."
Dravid also spoke about another former skipper, Sourav Ganguly. The issue had been prompted by the fact that earlier in the day, South African coach Mickey Arthur - with no prompting - had expressed great admiration for Ganguly.
Arthur had said Ganguly should have been in the original one-day team during the tour of South Africa last year, and said that the southpaw brings invaluable experience to the side. Dravid echoed the sentiment, though he insisted performance matters more than anything else.
"Sourav brings great experience to the side," said Dravid. "But at the end of the day, experience or no experience, you've got to produce the runs and take wickets."
Dravid also spoke about another former skipper, Sourav Ganguly. The issue had been prompted by the fact that earlier in the day, South African coach Mickey Arthur - with no prompting - had expressed great admiration for Ganguly.
Arthur had said Ganguly should have been in the original one-day team during the tour of South Africa last year, and said that the southpaw brings invaluable experience to the side. Dravid echoed the sentiment, though he insisted performance matters more than anything else.
"Sourav brings great experience to the side," said Dravid. "But at the end of the day, experience or no experience, you've got to produce the runs and take wickets."
"Each member of our team is very valuable, and equally valuable," Dravid said. "Yes, Sourav has played a lot of cricket in these kinds of wickets and hopefully he'll fire in the next couple of games."