Dravid skips nets due to fever

Rahul Dravid, the India captain, did not attend the nets today in Ahmedabad ahead of the third and final Test against Sri Lanka on Sunday. This was due to the after-effects of the antibiotics he took before the second Test in Delhi.

"It was decided that he would rest today. He will be playing tomorrow," M Baladitya, the team manager, told PTI. The rest of the squad practised today, including Punjab fast bowler VRV Singh who has been specifically asked to be with the team and bowl in the nets, the team manager added.

Both Virender Sehwag, the Indian vice-captain, and Dravid were hit by viral fever before the second Test. Whereas Sehwag was admitted to a local hospital on the eve of the match and subsequently couldn't play in it, Dravid, who had missed a net session then too, gamely shrugged off the nascent fever to open the innings.

It was just the eighth time in his Test career that Dravid had gone in as an opener. But in Sehwag's absence, and notwithstanding his own modest average of 14.85 in that spot, he backed himself to take on the new ball. Still finding his feet as captain, it was a move that won him a lot of appreciation from critics and spectators and reinforced the faith of his team-mates in him.