Kolkata: Rahul Dravid, who provided inspirational leadership to the beleaguered Rajasthan Royals this season, has hinted that he will call it quits, with the upcoming Champions League Twenty20 being his last assignment for the team.
“At 41, 12 months is a long way away. Luckily we have qualified for the Champions League (in October) which is a few months away. You know, I think that would be it,” the 40-year-old said after RR went out of the IPL following a four-wicket loss to the Mumbai Indians in the second qualifier on Friday.
Dravid enthralled his fans showing some great agility and a new-found aggression in leadership especially at a time when his team was battling spot-fixing allegations, which led to the arrest of three players.
The arrested trio included, Indian Test pacer S Sreesanth.
Starting out as the dark horses, Rajasthan Royals enjoyed a fairytale run as it challenged all the big teams, had a dream eight out of eight home wins and almost made the final before losing to Mumbai Indians in a nail-biting penultimate ball finish here.
“It’s always disappointing when you lose a game. It was a close game, one of those which could have gone either way. Unfortunately we ended up on the losing side. But all the boys should be proud with the way we fought today and ended our campaign.”
Dravid had also said that there is no good in banning the IPL in its entirety because of the ongoing spot-fixing scandal.
“If you completely throw away the tournament, it’s like throwing away the baby with the bath water,” he said. (PTI)