CLT20, I think that would be it, says Dravid on his future

Veteran Indian batsman Rahul Dravid, who provided inspirational leadership to the beleaguered Rajasthan Royals this season, has decided to call it quits from the IPL with the upcoming Champions League Twenty20 being his last assignment for the franchise. 

"At 41, 12 months is a long way away. Luckily we have qualified for the Champions League (in October) which is a few months away. 

"You know, I think that would be it," the 40-year-old said after RR went out of the IPL following a four-wicket loss to the Mumbai Indians in the second qualifier on Friday.

Dravid enthralled his fans showing some great agility and a new-found aggression in leadership especially at a time when his team was battling spot-fixing allegations, which led to the arrest of its three players. 

The arrested trio included, India Test pacer S Sreesanth. Starting out as a dark horse, Rajasthan Royals enjoyed a fairytale run as it challenged all the big teams, had a dream eight out of eight home wins and almost made the final before losing to Mumbai Indians in a nail-biting penultimate ball finish. 

"It's always disappointing when you lose a game. It was a close game, one of those which could have gone either way. Unfortunately we ended up on the losing side. But all the boys should be proud with the way we fought today and ended our campaign."

The spot-fixing scandal might have left the IPL's reputation in shreds and severely dented his own team's image but Rajasthan Royals skipper Rahul Dravid said no good can come out of banning the Twenty20 league altogether as there are a "lot of positives about it".

"You've to deal with the challenges. If you completely throw away the tournament, it's like throwing away the baby with the bath water," Dravid said after RR's ouster from the IPL following a four-wicket loss to Mumbai Indians in the second qualifier.

"We need to sort the issue out rather than make big statements like cancel the IPL. Because there're some real good positives that have come out of it."

The former India skipper, who retired after 16 years of International cricket, further said the menace of fixing has been there in the past as well. 

"We don't stop International cricket because of that. If that yardstick was used, we should stop all cricket. It's a question of correcting some of the challenges. An issue of betting is not only about the IPL. We have seen in the past that the issue has been there in International cricket," Dravid said. 

"The cricket is great. There is no doubt about it. I've always said the IPL is a fantastic tournament. There are a lot of positives about it. But there are challenges in the IPL as well as we've seen in the last week or 10 days. Not only this, there are other challenges that come up from time to time and that need to be dealt with. 

"Truth always sets you free. I really hope that in anything you just get to the truth and get to the bottom of it. Whatever and however painful maybe." 

Dravid said it was a difficult phase for his team, something which it had not experienced before. 

"It was unique in that sense. You plan for a lot of things... you plan for failing, you know how to deal with that. But when stuff like this comes up you don't know...," he said. 

"It was quite challenging. But I was lucky to have good support staff and good spirit in the team. While it was a challenge I'm happy to get over it in someways. However, he said it would take some time to get over the shock of what has happened. 

"We had to get ready and play this game but after we go back to our houses, the whole thing will take some time to get used to."