No need to make a decision now - Dravid

Rahul Dravid has said that he has not made a decision on whether to retire or not. There had been reports in the media about Dravid's imminent retirement after the defeat in Adelaide, which prompted the Indian team management to issue a statement saying that none of the senior players were about to quit. That point was reiterated by the acting captain Virender Sehwag, and now Dravid has said there was no need to make decisions immediately.

"I am definitely nearer the end than the beginning, there is no doubt about that," Dravid told Channel Nine. "I haven't made any decision and there is no need to make any decisions now, we're not playing another Test match for seven to eight months so we'll see how it pans out. At my stage in my career it's always about taking it a series at a time and not looking too far ahead, so we'll see what happens."

Dravid was in bad form during India's 0-4 whitewash in Australia, scoring only 194 runs at an average of 24. His failure came after good performances in his previous two series - 319 runs at an average of 64 against West Indies at home, and 461 runs at an average of 77 in England.

None of the other India batsmen averaged over 40 either in Australia and their collective failure led to India's second consecutive 0-4 overseas whitewash. Dravid said it was important that India try and regain ground as a Test team.

"We haven't done so well abroad over the last couple of series but I'm hopeful that some of the young kids will come through. It might take a bit of time but we'll build up a strong base.

"India needs to be a strong Test-playing nation, there are not too many countries playing cricket and I think if India is competitive in Test cricket it does make a difference."

India now play a tri-series in Australia, against the hosts and Sri Lanka, after which they travel to Bangladesh for the Asia Cup in March. The Indian Premier League is scheduled for April and May, after which India will play more limited-overs cricket. Their next Test series is only in August, at home against New Zealand.