IPL fixing: Gentleman Rahul Dravid sullied by his teammates

New Delhi, May 16: He could have gained lot of lessons in simplicity and integrity in life in the company of a great man. But he chose to fritter it away and in the bargain brought disrepute to the man.

Sreesanth had great opportunity to see and learn from Rahul Dravid, how to conduct oneself in life and in cricket profession, being part of Indian team under Rahul's captaincy and now in Rajasthan Royals.

As cricket commentators dissected the Royals success, they solely attributed it to Dravid's captaincy and more particularly to his personal qualities as 'pure, honest and dedicated'. Dravid is integrity personified and now, his teammates have sullied this role model of millions.

Dravid has taken a bunch of youngsters with no-hopes to a spot, which would take them up and up. The gentleman cricketer made the Royals a team to envy. But Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila, and Ankeet Chavan have buried Dravid's culture of cricket.

At the Bradman Oration speech in Canberra in December 2010, Rahul Dravid had said, "If we stand up for the game's basic decencies, it will be far easier to tackle its bigger dangers - whether it is finding short cuts to easy money or being lured by the scourge of spot-fixing and contemplating any involvement with the betting industry."

Unfortunately, this warning of Rahul David came to hit his team.

Statement of Rahul Dravid - Captain, Rajasthan Royals

I am shocked, disappointed, and distressed by the events that have resulted in the arrests last night and this morning. Rajasthan Royals is a special team, where we have always operated like a family - so this is particularly devastating.

Spot fixing and corruption have hung over the game of cricket, and I know that the BCCI and RR take the same zero tolerance view of the situation.

The RR owners and management have made their zero tolerance views clear on every possible occasion, and I am sure that they will support any action taken.

For me, as a captain and leader, I have to focus on ensuring that the team fulfill their enormous potential and continue to play in the ‘Rajasthan Royals' way.

Our players are devastated that our performances may have been affected, as they have a desire to win that has been evident throughout the tournament.

I hope that our fans get behind us even more, and that we become stronger as a unit - which often happens in times of adversity.

Statement of Paddy Upton - Coach, Rajasthan Royals

As Rahul says, the Rajasthan Royals environment is a special one, where we focus on teamship, focus on the cricket, identify new players and promote young players to the front line.

We challenge inexperience to compete with the most experienced - and that approach has risks.

Today has seen an unfurling of events that have left us all shocked and disappointed, and we will support the franchise, the BCCI and the authorities in taking necessary actions to root out an evil that plagues our game.

However, we will not let the team lose its focus on completing what has been a magnificent tournament. We cannot let ‘bad eggs' ruin the game that we all love, affect the values that RR holds dear, and destroy an environment that we have worked hard to take to a new level.

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