Dravid set to announce retirement – reports

MUMBAI, (Reuters) – India batting stalwart and former skipper Rahul Dravid is expected to announce his retirement from international cricket tomorrow, according to local media reports.
The 39-year-old second highest run scorer in test history has scheduled a news conference in Bangalore with Indian cricket board (BCCI) president N. Srinivasan also in attendance.
Dravid has scored 13,288 runs in 164 tests, including 36 hundreds, and is expected to become the first of India’s senior batsmen to retire from the longer format after the team slumped to eight consecutive test defeats away from home.
Critics and fans have called for Dravid and Vangipurappu Laxman (37) to make way for new blood after India were whitewashed 4-0 in their last two away series in England and Australia.
The third member of the ‘Big Three’ Sachin Tendulkar (38) has struggled for form since reaching his 99th international century a year ago and at 38, could soon be expected to limit his participation to test matches only.
Last year, Dravid retired from the limited overs formats of the game after India’s disastrous tour of England, where the team failed to win a single match.
The stylish right-hander, one of cricket’s most technically sound batsmen, also has 12 hundreds in one-day internationals.
He will continue to play in the lucrative Twenty20 India Premier League, where he will lead Rajasthan Royals, replacing the retired Shane Warne as the captain of the franchise.