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Bangalore: Upset over Indian middle order batsmen's inconsistency in the on-going One-Day series against Australia, former Indian skipper and coach Ajit Wadekar has urged the Indian selectors to bring back discarded batsman Rahul Dravid for the ODI series against Sri Lanka or face the consequences.
"The Indian middle order looks solid only on paper and it is high time the Indian selectors rethink about the combination of the Indian team for the forthcoming home series against Sri Lanka. Though Rahul Dravid is an automatic choice for the Tests, his services are badly needed in the One-Dayers.
"We need someone who can stay put at the wicket and negotiate the swing and pace early on or rebuild the innings when early wickets tumble like it did at Guwahati and Rahul can do that to perfection," Wadekar told.
"The present middle order, including Gautam Gambhir, who is basically an opener, lack consistency and the youngsters like Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja have still to mature and learn to play under pressure.
"They are all very talented but they lack the nerve and consistency a senior player like Dravid has. If the selectors had shown little faith in his (Dravid's) ability, the Indians probably would have been leading 4-2 and not trailing by the same margin," he added.
Insisting that Zaheer Khan's return, after a long injury lay-off, will certainly strengthen the bowling, Wadekar insisted that the Indians could have won the Vadodara and Hyderabad One-Dayers if Dravid was in the middle order.
"I have full confidence that both the Vadodara and Hyderabad matches could have been won by us if Dravid was in the middle order. It is sad that the present selectors have not learnt their lessons from the mistakes committed by the earlier bunch of selectors. Zaheer's return will only strengthen the bowling but the middle order batting will continue to lack solidity and experience," the southpaw said.
"The full strength Lankans are as tough as the second string Aussies to beat and the Indians will face the music if changes are not made to the present team as the Aussies are sure to ride on the momentum they have got going into the final match at Navi Mumbai," he added.
