Kolkata, May 25 (IANS): Rajasthan Royals skipper Rahul Dravid has indicated that he will retire from the Indian Premier League, after the Champions League T20 later this year.
"I am 41 and 12 months are a long way ahead," was Dravid's reply to a media query on whether he will play the next season of the IPL.
With the Royals qualifying for the Champions League T20 beginning Sep 17 in India, Dravid said he may not play anymore after the tournament.
"Luckily we have qualified for the Champions league, so a couple of months more. I think that will be it," Dravid told mediapersons after his team went down fighting to the Mumbai Indians in second qualifier at the Eden Gardens Friday.
The stylish batsman, who scored 2,174 runs from 89 IPL matches, at an earlier occasion too had said he wanted to discuss about his future with his franchise. He has already retired from all other formats of the game.
Dravid hopes spot fixing truth will be revealed
Rajasthan Royals skipper Rahul Dravid hopes that investigators "get to the bottom of the mess and reveal the truth" about spot fixing.
"I believe truth sets you free. I sincerely hope that we get to the bottom of this mess and reveal whatever the truth is, no matter how painful it is," Dravid told media persons after his team went down fighting to the Mumbai Indians in the second qualifier match at the Eden Gardens Friday.
Batting for the league, Dravid said the menace of betting was not peculiar to the IPL.
"Betting is not an issue only with the IPL, but also with the international cricket. But you don't stop the game for that. Instead of making big statements like cancelling the IPL, I think we must all focus on facing the challenge.
"IPL is a fantastic tournament with lots of positives. But then there will be challenges which one has to face. There is no point throwing the baby out with the bathwater," said Dravid.
The IPL scam, which seems to be getting bigger by the day, came to light when Rajasthan Royals' S. Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan were arrested on spot fixing charges last week.
Chennai Super King's Gurunath Meiyappan, who is the son-in-law of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Narayanswamy Srinivasan, was arrested late Friday.
Admitting that the scandal has come as a rude shock, the stylish batsman said it would take time for him and his team members to overcome it.
"You plan for lot of things including failures and disappointment. But when a thing like this comes up, you don't know what to do. It's challenging. It will take time for all of us to get over this," Dravid added.