Spirit of game is more relevant in times of crisis: Dravid

Former captain Rahul Dravid says the spirit of the game has become more "relevant and important" in the wake of the IPL spot-fixing scandal that plunged Indian cricket into a credibility crisis.
One of the most disciplined statesmen of modern-day cricket, Dravid said, "In times like these when the game is facing big challenges and some of the players get involved (corruption) the spirit of the game becomes more relevant and important.
"It is important that you play within rules and in spirit of the game. Selections should be consequence of what you are doing but not the goal. Winning and succeeding is not important if you play foul."

Dravid's former Rajasthan Royals and India team-mate S Sreesanth and Ankeet Chavan were recently handed life bans by the BCCI for involvement in spot-fixing, a few months after spending time in jail. A verdict on another accused cricketer Ajit Chandila, who was also a part of Rajasthan Royals, is awaited.
Dravid spoke highly of the initiative undertaken by two former England captains.
"In the late 1990s, two distinguished MCC members (and ex-England captains), Ted Dexter and Lord (Colin) Cowdrey, sought to enshrine the 'Spirit of Cricket' in the game's Laws. Their initiative proved successful when the current Code of Laws was introduced in 2000," he said.

As far as their semifinal match in the upcoming Champions League Twenty20 was concerned, Dravid said there would be no special preparations.
"It has been a good going. We are in semifinal and have one more chance. We were beaten in the semifinals of IPL-6 but now have another chance. We know things would become more difficult in knockout stage because all teams would be good since they were able to reach this far. There would be no special preparations and we would stick to our normal routine.