Is 'The Wall' crumbling?

This question is probably uppermost the minds of every cricket aficionado in the country. And, problem is, the answer is equally ambiguous.

Rahul Dravid [Images], who was the cornerstone of the Indian middle order for years, is finally showing signs of fatigue, weariness or whatever term you may like to attribute his poor form to.

His performance in the recent few series' have been anything but consistent and, subsequently, questions are being asked about his future. More so because contemporaries like Anil Kumble [Images] and Sourav Ganguly [Images] have called it quits   and there are many young players raising their heads -- for entry into the national team -- in eager anticipation.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India, by retaining the 35-year-old in Grade A in the newly-offered contracts, has made its intent clear: they are not ready to jump the gun. But the prolonged slump in form, regardless of his calibre and earlier achievements, will continue to haunt Dravid's career till he goes back to doing what he does best -- be consisitent with the bat.

We are not going to comment on whether Dravid should be 'rested' or 'dropped' or, for that matter, 'retire.' Instead, here are a few stats which reflect his recent performances. Yes, we do agree, statistics refelect only form. Class is permanent though.

Longest lean patches for India's senior-most batsmen
(Most consecutive innings without scoring even a fifty)

Player	Inns	Runs	Hs	Avg	0s	Period	How did they come out of the rut
R Dravid	16	350	48	23.33	1	Oct 1999-Nov 2000	Scored 200* & 70* v Zimbabwe
SR Tendulkar	13	262	44	21.83	0	Dec 2005-Dec 2006	Scored 63 v South Africa [Images] at Durban
SC Ganguly	13	187	48	14.38	1	Nov 2000-Aug 2001	Scored 98* v Sri Lanka [Images], which followed another bleak period of 11 consecutive innings without a fifty
SC Ganguly	11	227	47	25.22	1	Aug 2001-Feb 2002	Scored 136 v Zimbabwe at Delhi [Images]
SR Tendulkar	10	170	49	17.00	1	Jan-Oct 2008	Scored 88 v Australia [Images] at Mohali
SC Ganguly	9	182	47	26.00	1	Apr-Oct 2008	Scored 102 v Australia at Mohali
SC Ganguly	9	164	43	18.22	0	Dec 1999-Mar 2000	Scored 84 v Bangladesh at Dhaka
SC Ganguly	9	176	41	22.00	2	Oct 1996-Jan 1997	Scored 73 & 60 v South Africa at Johannesburg
R Dravid	9	147	44	18.38	0	Apr-Aug 2008	Scored 68 & 51 in two successive innings
R Dravid	8	76	39	9.50	1	Oct-Dec 2008	Yet to come out of rut
VVS Laxman	8	108	31	18.00	2	Jan-Jun 2006	Scored 100 v West Indies [Images] at Basseterre
SC Ganguly	8	78	29	9.75	1	Oct-Dec 2002	Scored 100* v New Zealand [Images] at Ahmedabad [Images]

Interestingly, Sachin Tendulkar [Images] has managed to score over 1000 runs in 2008 despite going through a lean patch in between. He started the year 2008 with a bang smashing 154 not out, 12, 71, 13 and 153 followed by a mini slump that saw him aggregating only 170 runs in 10 innings between January and October.

The master batsman, however, recovered his form in time with a cracking 88 against Australia in Mohali and since then has scored 10 not out, 68, 47, 109, 12, 37 and 103 not out.

Worst batting average during the lean patches

Player	Inns	Runs	Hs	Avg	0s	Period
R Dravid	8	76	39	9.50	1	Oct-Dec 2008
SC Ganguly	8	78	29	9.75	1	Oct-Dec 2002
SC Ganguly	13	187	48	14.38	1	Nov 2000-Aug 2001
SR Tendulkar	10	170	49	17.00	1	Jan-Oct 2008
VVS Laxman	8	108	31	18.00	2	Jan-Jun 2006
SC Ganguly	9	164	43	18.22	0	Dec 1999-Mar 2000
R Dravid	9	147	44	18.38	0	Apr-Aug 2008