Included in the list of probables for the Champions Trophy in South Africa, former India skipper Rahul Dravid’s return to the one-day fold on Monday has not only given a new lease to his career but may also have marked the end of the apparent youth policy started soon after the World Cup debacle in 2007.

Dravid was included as one of the 30 probables for the tournament to be held in South Africa in September, and the decision now makes him a certainty in the final list of 15 as sources in the selection committee said they were hoping he would provide solidity to the batting line-up in the middle.

Dravid last played a one-day international against Australia at Nagpur in October, 2007, before being left out by the selectors in a move that was said to have new skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s approval. But now, the selectors said, his comeback was aimed at rehabilitating Dhoni by allowing the captain to play his strokes freely, rather than bearing the burden of holding the innings together.

“Dhoni has been performing in the last two years and guide the youngsters around him that has forced him to curb his natural attacking instincts. Hopefully, this will change things,” a selector, who did not wish to be named, told The Indian Express.

Dhoni had admitted he was facing a problem of choosing between batting aggressively and anchoring the innings. “I don’t know if I’ll get back to my old self. Maybe I will, maybe I won’t, it depends on the situation. But the more important thing is who will play the role that I am playing at present. I don’t want any of the youngsters to change their style, I will rather take up the responsibility myself,” Dhoni had said during the IPL.

... contd.