Kumble comes to Dravid's rescue

Bangalore, Mar 30 (UNI) Former Wisden Cricketer Anil Kumble lent a supporting shoulder to Team India captain Rahul Dravid, facing attacks from various quarters following the side's disastrous World Cup campaign that ended in the group stage.

''Blaming the captain for the debacle is not correct. He (Dravid) has contributed a lot to the game...Just because the team lost badly in the World Cup, one should not underestimate his captaincy,'' he told reporters here after announcing his retirement from one-day cricket.

The ace leggie, who was also part of the World Cup, said ''the team's premature exit from the World Cup was most disappointing, but you cannot blame the captain for the failure.'' Kumble recalled that under the captaincy of statemate Dravid, Team India had registered a series victory against arch rival Pakistan in their home ground after a gap of 35 years. ''Is it not an achievement? It is only one example, but under his captaincy, we have won many series ... against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh.'' Kumble, who played only one match in the World Cup against minnows Bermuda in which India won, said ''I never expected the premature exit. The winning target of 255 against Sri Lanka in the crucial tie was not much difficult, but our batting line up failed, though the bowlers did their job well.'' UNI