Gambhir shouldn't feel left out of the squad: Dravid

Former India captain Rahul Dravid said Virat Kohli, who has been named as India's vice-captain for the forthcoming Asia Cup in Bangladesh, still needs to establish himself to go a step further. Dravid also said senior batsman Gautam Gambhir shouldn't feel left out of the team because the vice-captaincy has been taken away from him.

Dravid said Kohli did extremely well in the Tests and the Commonwealth Bank Series in Australia, adding the selectors have rewarded him for his performances Down Under. "Having said that, Virat is the first to recognise that he has got to establish himself to go another step further. I think we know from the past that by just being the vice-captain you are not going to be the next captain," Dravid was quoted as saying by PTI at a function to unveil Rajasthan Royals' team jersey ahead of the fifth season of the Indian Premier League.

Dravid, who will captain the Royals in IPL-5, is optimistic about the team's chances of finishing in the top-four, as they have a good bunch of players. He also said it is important the Royals start the tournament well by playing good cricket and get some momentum early on. "It will be about playing good cricket, we have a good balance of players and we have to ensure that we gel together and how you bring different players from different countries - young and old. There is not a lot of time, everyone will be arriving
two-three days prior to the tournament. This is the way international schedules work nowadays," Dravid said, adding that would be the biggest challenge for the team management.

He also said Sachin Tendulkar is not only focussed on getting his 100th international century, adding the landmark will happen in due course. "Having shared the dressing room with Sachin, I don't think Sachin himself is thinking about it (scoring the 100th century]. Every time a batsman wants to go out and score a century to help the team to win. It (the 100th ton) will happen," Dravid said.

Talking about India's humiliating whitewashes in the Test series in England and Australia, Dravid said the players feel very deeply about those defeats and the string of losses did make it tough on everybody as nobody likes to lose. "When you don't get results, nothing works and nobody feels good about it, especially when losses keep mounting like this. So, disappointment is going to be there all around," Dravid told Times of India.

Dravid stated though players can't become a part of the emotional rollercoaster brought on by wins and defeats, adding criticism and back-patting are part of international sport. "I also need to add here that as a player one cannot become a part of this emotional rollercoaster. You've got to stay balanced and look ahead at all times. The whole idea of trying to improve means you cannot afford to look back all the time," he told ToI.

He also feels that cricket is still alive and kicking as it has always been, adding the IPL has caught the imagination of people. Dravid said the IPL is a good tournament, but admitted there are some areas of concern that need to be looked into. "But that doesn't mean that the tournament itself is a concern or has lost any charm," he said.