I don?t see captaincy as additional burden: Dravid
The newly appointed skipper Rahul Dravid expressed confidence that he would continue to bat the way he always did.
The newly appointed skipper Rahul Dravid said on Tuesday that he did not see captaincy as an additional burden and expressed confidence he would continue to bat the way he always did.
"I don't see it as an additional burden. I have to obviously give time for my captaincy. There will be a time when I will have to concentrate on batting and forget captaincy," he said in response to a question.
"I am really excited; it's an honour to lead the side."
Dravid said "there is certain amount of pressure every time when one plays for India."
"No, I don't particularly think so (that he will have added pressure because of captaincy)," 'The Wall' said, a day after he was selected captain for the tri-series in Sri Lanka commencing on July 30.
"I think, it (captaincy) is going to be a huge challenge," he said.
"I have done it before (as stand-in captain whenever Sourav Ganguly was unavailable). So, I am looking forward to it."
Asked if he was looking for "longer arrangement" (lead the side even after the tri-series), Dravid pointed out that he had been named captain only for the Sri Lanka series.
Noting that players and captain were picked on series-to-series basis, he said one had to look at the scenario from that perspective.
Dravid said he always played cricket by looking at one game at a time and will adopt the same strategy as captain.
He said this strategy had given him success as a player and hoped for similar result when he was at the helm.
Dravid said India would aim to set the record straight in Sri Lanka, where the tri-series commences on July 30 with the West Indies as the third team.
"It's going to be a huge challenge. We have not particularly done well (against Sri Lanka) in one-day cricket. But we have a good chance to correct that," he said.
"All the guys are very keen... With the new coach we are looking to put some new things in place and hope to start the new season on a positive note."
"The fact that India's tour of Sri Lanka last season was a disappointment does not mean this time it would be automatically similar," he said.
"We have really worked hard," Dravid said. "We hope we will put up a much better performance."
In response to a question, he said the possible absence of Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar, would give an opportunity for a couple of youngsters to showcase their talent.
"Definitely, it's a good opportunity for youngsters to set a mark and show that they can do it at this level," he said, adding it would be interesting to see how a couple of players use the opportunity and perform.
On Ganguly, he said if the ICC lifts the ban and the Kolkatan does play in the tri-series, it would be fantastic.
"Sourav has tons of experience. He is a very experienced player; a very successful one-day player. It's fantastic to have him back in the side when he does come back."