'Tendulkar will bounce back' - Dravid

One big defeat at Karachi was all it took for the critics to sharpen their knives but Rahul Dravid, the India captain, has insisted that the players are capable of brushing it all aside and concentrating on the five-match one-day series. He was confident of Sachin Tendulkar "bouncing back" to form.

Rahul Dravid is confident that Sachin Tendulkar will 'bounce back' in the ODIs © AFP

Dravid wasn't too perturbed by the media backlash after the 341-run defeat in the third Test and said they had come to expect such "extreme reactions". Asked about cheeky headlines like "Endulkar?" and "Goneguly?", he spoke about the on-field pressures cricketers regularly endure: "Players like Tendulkar and [Sourav] Ganguly have achieved so much because they have handled the pressures both on and off the field.

"It's not only about scoring runs or getting wickets, but also about how you react to criticism and come out stronger. I think Tendulkar and Ganguly are masters at it. We hope Tendulkar will bounce back here. Thankfully we haven't been reading much of the criticism or seeing much of it on television. Having played for so long, one expects it and gets used to it."

The addition of four new players to the squad, Dravid felt, would pep up the rest of the side, with fresh legs adding a bit of sting to the fielding. "They've been playing domestic cricket and are keen and excited. They've done well before and a couple [Mohammad Kaif and Murali Kartik] have tasted success in Pakistan."

With the pitch expected to suit the batsmen, Dravid, like he had done during the first two Tests, repeated that bowlers needed to set "realistic goals" and learn something from bowling on these wickets. "It's hard on the bowlers," he continued, "but it's usually the team that bowls better in these conditions that does better. We need to learn from it."

Dravid admitted that the Supersub rule tended to favour the team winning the toss, but was quick to add that it was an innovation that was worth trying out. "The ICC have decided to try it out for 10 months and we probably need to try some different things with it."