T20 runs can't guarantee Test success: Dravid

Mohali: Bangalore Royal Challengers may be struggling to find their feet in the Indian Premier League, but skipper Rahul Dravid on Sunday said the youngsters should not get disheartened as performance in Twenty20 was not an indicator of a player's ability in longer version of the game.

"Success in T20 may not automatically translate into success in the four-day Ranji or Tests," Dravid, whose team will take on Kings XI Punjab here on Monday, told a pre-match press conference.

He said batsmen scoring runs in T20 cannot be rated as better batsmen because they will need to prove themselves in the longer version of the game.

"T20 is unique and lot of young Indian players are excelling in this format. Whether they can take this confidence to the next level is debatable. It's not going to be easy and the skills with which you achieve success in T20 may not help you give you success in Ranji and Tests," he said.

Asked whether the youngster playing this format are going to be good enough to perform in the longer versions, Dravid said, "It's hard to make that call and rate what is a good performance in this format."

Asked how he felt playing and captaining in this format and if this was the same as leading and playing for one's country, Dravid said, "nothing can be equated to playing for one's country."

Dravid, however, said the pressure of winning while playing for the country and for a franchise was the same.

"Whichever team you are a part of, you want to win and want to do well," he said.

On his team's performance which is placed at the bottom of the points table, Dravid admitted that "below par" batting had let them down.

"We have not batted the way we would have liked to. It has been a bit below par, which has cost us some games. Probably, we will do better next time," he said.

On criticism that the Royal Challengers were more of a Test side and not suited for the Twenty20 format, Dravid said, "Even other teams are not doing well, some of whom had been rated much higher than us. We still have got six games to go and it's a great opportunity for us to bounce back. If we don't, it will be a disappointment for us and our franchise."

"T20 is constantly changing, evolving and teams are trying different things. Everyone is learning here and even the bowlers are learning how to cope (in the batsman-oriented format)," he said.