Former Indian cricket captain Dilip Vengsarkar today said that Rahul Dravid was leading India by example and displayed his character and guts coming out to bat with the pressure of 650 plus runs in Lahore.

Talking to scribes on the occasion of joining Sambaran Banerjee's Cricket Academy, he said, ''Rahul Dravid is an excellent captain. It was a fantastic decision to open the innings after being in the field under a 650-plus score. i think 99 per cent of the captains would not have come out under such circumstances.'' ''He is a makeshift opener but he led from the front seeing no other option. He sacrificed his number three position for the sake of his team. He decided to open with Virender Sehwag. This also gave Sourav Ganguly a chance to bat in his position'', he said.

Asked about the dead wicket in Lahore, he said it was bad publicity for Test wicket. as it is, few people come to watch test matches. With this kind of wicket, people will turn their backs on Test cricket,''he said.

He also said that the curator should not be blamed for such a damp wicket for at this time of the year, the weather is foggy and damp in Northern India and places like Lahore and Karachi.

Vengsarkar had made three trips to Pakistan. The first time was in 1979-78 series, the second in 82-83 and the third in 84-85. The third series was abondoned after the Faisaladabad test because the then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assisinated back home.

Talking about Ganguly, he said ''Sourav is a fantastic player and I am sure he is going to score big runs once he gets a chance to bat.'' Vengerserkar also lauded Virender Sehwag saying, ''He attacks the bowling and plays by instict. If you can forget the techniques momentarily one can only marvel at his batting''.