Dravid is a fighter: Ranatunga

Colombo, Dec 22 (PTI) Former Sri Lanka skipper Arjuna
Ranatunga, who had predicted that Rahul Dravid would bounce
back from his lean phase, was Monday effusive in his praise of
the middle-order batsman who notched a century against England
in the second Test in Mohali.

"Dravid is a fighter. That is why I said he would come
back on his own soon as he has grit and determination besides
the stamp of a world class batsman," Ranatunga told PTI.

"It is not without reason that he has surpassed 10,000
runs in Test cricket. He was going through a lean phase and I
knew he would fight it out," Ranatunga said on Dravid's 136
that resurrected his career.

Dravid, 35, crafted a confident century, his first in 20
Test innings.

Rantunga said though the "wall" had used correct
techniques, he was often unfortunate in getting dismissed for
low scores.

The former World Cup winning captain and Chairman of Sri
Lanka Cricket said players like Dravid should be treasured
since he can still contribute a lot to the game.

"Dravid should be encouraged as he has contributed to
many wins for India and has some years of cricket left,"
Ranatunga said.

He said Indian batsmen were getting their act together
and going by current form, India could be ranked one of the
best in the world.

The 45-year-old cricketer-turned-lawmaker also had a word
of praise for the Indian fast bowlers and said both Ishant
Sharma and Zaheer Khan have been performing with a lot of
consistency and were coming up with good spells. PTI