Some people are natural magicians. They are destined for greatness. You know they will be hailed as geniuses the moment they enter their fields. They are people like Roger Federer, Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara etc. Others are not so lucky. They work hard. They work very hard. They are questioned every second. They are doubted every second. They are laughed off after every performance. Yet they fight. To prove they belong there. To prove they deserve to be rated with the best. Rahul Sharad Dravid belonged to the second category.
Perhaps the most under rated cricketer to be talked about in the recent years, Rahul has been the backbone of Indian cricket team for well over a decade now. Always overshadowed by the easy genius of Sachin, and the maverick of Sourav, Dravid was always the lesser of the three musketeers. The reason for this was very simple. Whenever Dravid played well, someone overshadowed him. While Sachin and Sourav were busy making their records, on the other side of the wicket there was always one man who saw them though all this. Sample- Ganguly made a career best of 183 in 1999 in WC. Great innings. The man on other end? Rahul Dravid. Sachin made a then career best of 186 against NZ in Vizag. Super knock. Who was at the other end? Rahul Dravid. Laxman made 281 in "that" test. Who was with him? Rahul Dravid. The list can go on and on.
Dravid made his debut at lord's in 1996 with a briliant 95. However he was condemned as a one format wonder. He was too slow. Too technically correct. While his position in the test team was settled, his ODI position was always under threat. He worked on it. He produced 6 ODI hundrends in 1999. He had begin to learn that to survive, he would always have to keep adjusting.
And how well he adjusted. He ended his career with more than 10,000 ODI runs. We all hail Yuvraj and Dhoni as great finisher, but the art of finishing was taught by the perfectionist of Dravid. Along with Kaif and Yuvraj, he finished many games for India in the middle of last decade. If he needed to anchor he slowed. If he needed to go for hits, he went for it. Very few people will know or remember that he has the 2nd fastest 50 for India in ODIs.
And yet the BCCI was ruthless on him. He wasn't playing well in 2007. He was fired from the ODI side. The selectors wanted young blood. But they didn't remove him from test side. Because the young blood simply wasn't good enough for test spot. So he was kept there. This wasn't all. In the CL-2009 in SA, selectors knew that no-one can play on bouncy wickets as well as Dravid. So he was recalled. He played very well. And then dumped again. Recalled again in 2011 England ODI series. By then, even Rahul had had enough. He called it quits in ODI. You can't treat the genius like that. Screw you BCCI. Screw you Dhoni.
And yet he never said anything. Ganguly was always very local. Even Tendulkar, through indirect methods, showed his frustration( Remember that declaration at 194*). He was nearly perfect. But Dravid, he was perfect. Just like his batting. Just like his attitude towards life.I can't remember his negative reaction to anything.
You have to wonder how many runs would Sachin really have made if Dravid wasn't there. If Dravid hadn't been there to take off the shine from the new ball and leave the easier task for the middle order, would they really have been that good? Its an open secret that Tendulkar never moves from No 4. Which allows him to enjoy the reward of hard work Dravid has already put in. They have put in more than 15 century stands. And the credit would more often than not goes to Sachin. Not that Dravid ever resented it. Like a gentleman, he always accepted it. I, for one, think that the God of cricket is fantastic. But I have higher respect for "The Wall" that stood outside protecting the God from inside.
Why does Dravid not get the spotlight more often? Why isn't his photo splashed on the 1st page on newspaper as often as others? Is it because you will never see him taking his shirt off the balcony of Lord's? Because he never dances on the pitch to celebrate? Because he does not have any airs or tantrums? Because he has never come up with controversial comments? Because he never tries to act "cool"? Because he has not hit that many sixes as Sachin or Dhoni or Yuvraj? Perhaps his greatest falling here is that he is a gentleman. He is not naughty and saucy like Yuvraj and Kohli, not the jumping enthusiast as Raina, not as cool as Dhoni, not as artistic as Sachin. You need to have a USP beyond cricket to be popular in media. Nobody told that to Dravid. He always believed that cricket is enough.
With the advent of T-20, a lot of new tings have come in. The scoops, the helicopter shots, the intentional edges, the sledging, the partying and all. However, the sight of Dravid hitting three nice cricket shots out of the ground is what drives me to watch cricket. The sight of Dravid pulling the bowl with authority makes all these shots look foolish. His drives and pulls are work of perfect genius. The mesmerizing sight of Dravid playing the most difficult of balls with inch perfection is what describes cricket at it best.
Here is the story of Dravid's life captured in a couple of sentences.
Mr.RAHUL DRAVID, Gautam is hurt-will you open? Okay.We don't have a batsman keeper- will you keep? Okay. Over rate was slow so captain is banned for this match-will you be captain? Okay. Sachin didn't hit a 100- will you hit one? Okay.India looks like losing-will you save the match? Zaheer has hamstring injury- will you bowl? Errr.........OKAY! This is what RAHUL DRAVID is all about. When things become sour and going gets tough for TEAM INDIA........everyone turns their back in these critical situations ( not to mention even SACHIN), He will be there to save the dignity of team INDIA.
We love you Rahul. We respect you. For standing up when chips were down. For coming forward and taking responsibility when no-one would. For standing all nonsense without uttering a single word. For adapting whenever you were asked to. For keeping the spirit of game alive with your gentleman like attitude.
For being Rahul Dravid.
Perhaps the most under rated cricketer to be talked about in the recent years, Rahul has been the backbone of Indian cricket team for well over a decade now. Always overshadowed by the easy genius of Sachin, and the maverick of Sourav, Dravid was always the lesser of the three musketeers. The reason for this was very simple. Whenever Dravid played well, someone overshadowed him. While Sachin and Sourav were busy making their records, on the other side of the wicket there was always one man who saw them though all this. Sample- Ganguly made a career best of 183 in 1999 in WC. Great innings. The man on other end? Rahul Dravid. Sachin made a then career best of 186 against NZ in Vizag. Super knock. Who was at the other end? Rahul Dravid. Laxman made 281 in "that" test. Who was with him? Rahul Dravid. The list can go on and on.
Dravid made his debut at lord's in 1996 with a briliant 95. However he was condemned as a one format wonder. He was too slow. Too technically correct. While his position in the test team was settled, his ODI position was always under threat. He worked on it. He produced 6 ODI hundrends in 1999. He had begin to learn that to survive, he would always have to keep adjusting.
And how well he adjusted. He ended his career with more than 10,000 ODI runs. We all hail Yuvraj and Dhoni as great finisher, but the art of finishing was taught by the perfectionist of Dravid. Along with Kaif and Yuvraj, he finished many games for India in the middle of last decade. If he needed to anchor he slowed. If he needed to go for hits, he went for it. Very few people will know or remember that he has the 2nd fastest 50 for India in ODIs.
And yet the BCCI was ruthless on him. He wasn't playing well in 2007. He was fired from the ODI side. The selectors wanted young blood. But they didn't remove him from test side. Because the young blood simply wasn't good enough for test spot. So he was kept there. This wasn't all. In the CL-2009 in SA, selectors knew that no-one can play on bouncy wickets as well as Dravid. So he was recalled. He played very well. And then dumped again. Recalled again in 2011 England ODI series. By then, even Rahul had had enough. He called it quits in ODI. You can't treat the genius like that. Screw you BCCI. Screw you Dhoni.
And yet he never said anything. Ganguly was always very local. Even Tendulkar, through indirect methods, showed his frustration( Remember that declaration at 194*). He was nearly perfect. But Dravid, he was perfect. Just like his batting. Just like his attitude towards life.I can't remember his negative reaction to anything.
You have to wonder how many runs would Sachin really have made if Dravid wasn't there. If Dravid hadn't been there to take off the shine from the new ball and leave the easier task for the middle order, would they really have been that good? Its an open secret that Tendulkar never moves from No 4. Which allows him to enjoy the reward of hard work Dravid has already put in. They have put in more than 15 century stands. And the credit would more often than not goes to Sachin. Not that Dravid ever resented it. Like a gentleman, he always accepted it. I, for one, think that the God of cricket is fantastic. But I have higher respect for "The Wall" that stood outside protecting the God from inside.
Why does Dravid not get the spotlight more often? Why isn't his photo splashed on the 1st page on newspaper as often as others? Is it because you will never see him taking his shirt off the balcony of Lord's? Because he never dances on the pitch to celebrate? Because he does not have any airs or tantrums? Because he has never come up with controversial comments? Because he never tries to act "cool"? Because he has not hit that many sixes as Sachin or Dhoni or Yuvraj? Perhaps his greatest falling here is that he is a gentleman. He is not naughty and saucy like Yuvraj and Kohli, not the jumping enthusiast as Raina, not as cool as Dhoni, not as artistic as Sachin. You need to have a USP beyond cricket to be popular in media. Nobody told that to Dravid. He always believed that cricket is enough.
With the advent of T-20, a lot of new tings have come in. The scoops, the helicopter shots, the intentional edges, the sledging, the partying and all. However, the sight of Dravid hitting three nice cricket shots out of the ground is what drives me to watch cricket. The sight of Dravid pulling the bowl with authority makes all these shots look foolish. His drives and pulls are work of perfect genius. The mesmerizing sight of Dravid playing the most difficult of balls with inch perfection is what describes cricket at it best.
Here is the story of Dravid's life captured in a couple of sentences.
Mr.RAHUL DRAVID, Gautam is hurt-will you open? Okay.We don't have a batsman keeper- will you keep? Okay. Over rate was slow so captain is banned for this match-will you be captain? Okay. Sachin didn't hit a 100- will you hit one? Okay.India looks like losing-will you save the match? Zaheer has hamstring injury- will you bowl? Errr.........OKAY! This is what RAHUL DRAVID is all about. When things become sour and going gets tough for TEAM INDIA........everyone turns their back in these critical situations ( not to mention even SACHIN), He will be there to save the dignity of team INDIA.
We love you Rahul. We respect you. For standing up when chips were down. For coming forward and taking responsibility when no-one would. For standing all nonsense without uttering a single word. For adapting whenever you were asked to. For keeping the spirit of game alive with your gentleman like attitude.
For being Rahul Dravid.
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