No rift in India team, says Dravid

(Reuters) – Senior batsman Rahul Dravid has  batted down suggestions of a rift in India’s struggling test  team and said he was working hard to correct flaws in his  defence which has been repeatedly breached in the series against  Australia.
India trail the four-match test series 2-0. Their build-up  to the third test starting in Perth on Friday has been  overshadowed by Australian media reports of a rift in the side,  while the tourists have also come under fire from Indian media  for enjoying a go-karting session on Monday.
“When you lose 2-0, that’s part and parcel of the game,”  Dravid, who celebrated his 39th birthday today, told  reporters.
“Suddenly everything is wrong. There’s absolutely no truth  to those (reports about a rift)… the spirit in the team is  really good.”
Dravid, who has compiled 13,206 runs in 162 tests, said the  karting session was not an indication of the team losing their  focus.
“A lot of discussions happen in the dressing room, in the  course of dinner and when we go for go-karting.
“Lots of conversations can happen in times like that which  are very useful, and that’s how you learn. You don’t learn  through sitting in meetings, having powerpoint presentations.  That’s not how teams work.
“Obviously there is a sense of disappointment in the result  we had so far. We’d like to do better definitely but in terms of  spirit, it has been very good.
“One of the good things about travelling away from home is  that you are in a bit of a cocoon. You don’t tend to know what’s  happening back home.”
Dravid has been far from his best in the series, bowled four  times so far, including by a Peter Siddle no-ball in the  Melbourne test.
“Obviously when you get (bowled) out three times, you think  about it, there’s no doubt about it. I worked on a few things.  Hopefully it will be better,” said the player nicknamed ‘The  Wall’ for his otherwise impregnable defence.
“I don’t think anything has drastically changed since what  was a successful year for me. I have looked at some of the  videos and can’t see any difference. I hope it’s a coincidence  and I can set it right.
Fellow senior batsman VVS Laxman has not done justice to his  reputation as Australia’s bogeyman either, managing just one  half century, prompting calls for his exclusion from the side.
“I don’t think it has affected Laxman too much,” Dravid  said.
“I have not really read the comments and I don’t think Lax  is really bothered either. We have been around long enough and  we learnt to accept it as part and parcel of the job.
“Personally I know Lax is a relaxed character, a top class  performer and I’m backing him to come good in one of the two  test matches,” added Dravid.