'Good recognition for Kohli, but Gambhir shouldn't feel left out'

‘Good recognition for Kohli, but Gambhir shouldn’t feel left out’ Image Rahul Dravid

Mumbai: Former India captain Rahul Dravid on Monday said that Gautam Gambhir should not feel left out as Virat Kohli has been appointed Mahendra Singh Dhoni's deputy for the Asia Cup.

Dravid felt that though Kohli had been rewarded for his good performance in Australia, he said that the former India Under-19 captain still had some way to go to establish himself to go a step further.

"He (Kohli) has had a great tour of Australia. He has done incredibly well in Tests and in the ODIs… the selectors have given him a bit of reward," said Dravid.

"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.

"It's a good recognition for his form… I feel people like Gautam shouldn't feel left out . But at the moment Dhoni is doing a good job, so you don't need to look anywhere else," Dravid added at a function to unveil Rajasthan Royals' team jersey ahead of the IPL-V.

Dravid, who will lead Rajasthan Royals in the upcoming edition of the IPL, felt that having shared the dressing room recently with Sachin Tendulkar, he can vouch that the champion batsman was not solely focused on getting his 100th international century.

"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 century) will happen," said Dravid.

To a query on the criticism in the Australian media about the seniors' performance, Dravid said: "There will be a bit of controversy and you expect that in a professional sport. You know that each and every performance of yours is watched and analysed… you accept that and it's a part and parcel of being a sportsman. When you do well, it pays and gives you a lot of love and affection, and sometimes there is a flip-side as well."

Asked about his decision to accept the captaincy of Rajasthan Royals, Dravid said: "It's a totally different scenario (from the international level)… It's a combination of domestic and international players and I am looking forward to it. I really enjoyed my year in Rajasthan Royals and we have a good bunch of players. So from that point of view it was an easy decision when it was put forward to me."

Dravid said Rajasthan Royals had many good players this time, and, with some luck, should get into the top four before the knock-out phase.

"We have good players in the team and had to fill in a couple of players which we have taken from the auction. We need to perform well and hope luck favours us this time and we are in a position to enter the last-four stage. After that there is a knockout stage and anything can happen there," said Dravid, who was with Royal Challengers Bangalore in the first three seasons of IPL.

He added that it was important to start the tournament well and get some momentum.

"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