I am made to seriously lament my lack of decent articulation skills for two consecutive posts now. This is because when I want to write about The Rahul Dravid , my vocabulary seems to be very limited and I have a fear that I may end up not expressing who HE was and what HE truly epitomizes. More so because , every time during this past month when I sit down to write about him , I would stumble upon truck load of 'tributes' written by journalists , commentators , fellow players etc.(I read all of them and I found Rohit Brijnath's and Vijetha's tribute to be the best).
I can probably understand why there was/is an overdose of Dravid during the past month.I think, when Dravid's retirement came, people suddenly felt guilty that somewhere down the line they have failed to recognize his contribution.In a way, people redeemed their guiltiness by being part of Dravid's farewell through media/FB/twitter.(This yours truly post is also an attempt to wipe off some guiltiness).But hey.. quite frankly , the man deserves this overdose and I certainly dont mind it.
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| That trademark forward defense that is etched in the minds of cricket lovers.... |
There were two ominous signs in 2011 before the Australian Tour that said to a lot of us that Dravid's end is nearer.One,he was dropping a lot more than he held.(As Vijetha pointed out,he himself hated it). Dravid takes his catching seriously and has set high standards.The reflex you associate with him began to fade.(As a kid , I used to imitate his famous reflex swivel at silly point to avoid a cut shot being hit at him.)
Second is that he began to show something that we would not normally associate with him.For the first time we could see Dravid's ego coming to the forefront. It happened right throughout the press conferences at England when he scored those centuries. There was a certain high headedness and a tone of arrogance and anger (which I admit is totally normal and understandable but could have been avoided). Sadly that continued in his Bradman oration too. Quotes like "He (BRADMAN)was, primarily, like me, a No.3 batsman. It is a tough, tough job. We're the ones who make life easier for the kings (Read SACHIN) of batting, the middle order that follows us.".Very true but this also could have been avoided. However that should not take away the quality of that speech. The way he subtly took a dig at all the critics of BCCI and IPL should be appreciated... Many felt until that Bradman oration, his bat did the talking...
The most painful sight in cricket is to watch a legend struggle. He was the best 'leaver' of the ball I know. He was always sure of his off stump...He could always read the swing on the ball.. But.. everything just vanished from him one australian summer morning.. And then the inevitable came.. his decision to retire and many of us felt that the timing of that to be perfect. The Australian tour has been inexplicable for many reasons and Dravid and Laxman’s failure is surely surprising.
Frankly many of us (I certainly) hated him simply because he was text book. He was conventional. One look at Rahul Dravid , and you know whatever field he entered, he would have been amongst the best.. If he had been into medicine , he would have been among the best doctors in this country.. If he had been into other sports , he would have equally achieved greatness. If you had asked him to do CA, he would have cleared it with a Rank. And that's precisely why we hate him. He was the 'samathu payan' we all don’t want to be.(And I am particularly very averse to samathu payans). We cannot imagine him being a sport. He would not have played pranks on anyone in his early days. Yes... And At school, He would have been his teacher's favorite student..(In my opinion, to be a teacher's favorite student is the worst attribute one can have). And to add to all that , this guy was the smartest around.(Certain kind of jealousy creeps in). If only he was a bit of the explosive type he would have upstaged Sachin Tendulkar as the poster boy of Indian Cricket overnight.I remember me and my friends discussing the James Anderson Vs Rahul Dravid spells on FB.(Personally I felt their duel last summer was the best test cricket I had seen for a long time. Both were playing chess against each other.) That was when a non male member of the human species entered the discussion and the topic eventually digressed to their looks.I admit both Dravid and Anderson give doubts to even men on their straightness but what is important is we must all ensure that they both are remembered only for cricketing reasons.
I explained why I hated him. Let me tell you why I loved him.He was one cricketer who maximized his skills to the most.As Laloo Prasad Yadav once put it , he did not milk the cow but cowed the milk.He was completely aware of his strengths. His patience was his strength. He could wait for an hour for that one loose ball to be put away.I remember an ODI against Kenya during 1997 when he struggled to get off.All his shots found the fielders. He just could not accelerate nor could he get out... And after that match he was dropped from the ODI team. He went back to chinnaswamy... He worked on his placement.. He worked on his strike rate..He put in the effort.. He worked for hours...He came back to the ODI side.. He played the 1999 World Cup.. He just did not play.. He was the highest run getter in 1999 World Cup. That says about the man..This friends,is purely the triumph of human will power.
He has played some fantastic ODI innings.One of my favorite amongst those was the innings he played at Bristol in 2007 Vs England. The track was a belter. Sachin scored 99 and had left. Dravid was there with Dhoni for the last 10 overs. A player of the classical mode and as someone who was accused of wasting balls in his early days, he proved all critics wrong as he kept square driving the bowlers(particularly Broad) through point and one particular square drive(of anderson)actually went for a six over point. That was the first and last time I saw someone scoring a six with a square drive!.During the press conference, he humbly said 'it was one of those days'. He still holds the record(along with Agarkar)for the fastest fifty by an Indian(21 balls).We could clearly see the effort he had put in.
So.. what was Dravid's greatest test innings ?
I would certainly rate his 3 centuries now at England among the best I have seen. His 180 with Laxman changed Indian Cricket forever.His innings at leeds in 2002 along with Sanjay Bangar is one of the best test match batting partnerships I have seen.(That without doubt would certainly be Sanjay Bangar's best).His double century at pakistan in 2004 has special historical significance.His 2 fifty's at Jamaica are rated amongst the best innings that were not converted into centuries.I was too young to remember his first century at SA.People rate it high.(Infact I dont remember that innings).His exploits at adelaide in early 2003 is test batting at its best. It was near miracle innings. My favorite would be that.
The problem with Rahul Dravid's innings is that the highlights package wont show you his class. That is because watching Sachin attack gives us Joy.., Watching Laxman's wrists gives us Goosebumps.., Watching Dravid leave the ball gave us assurance , Watching him defend , gave us reassurance... Sadly his 'defence' and 'leaves' will not be part of any highlights package. As Anil Kumble put it , he gave such an assurance that the batsman at the other end would take that extra risk.Since Dravid was at the other end, a Tendulkar or Ganguly would play/ are allowed to play that one indiscrete shot (and this would be part of the highlights package).That for me is working as a team.. For him the team came to the forefront.He declared when Sachin was on 194..(That is also probably the only controversy in his entire career.). He kept and opened even though he did not like it.
We will miss you champ.. We have all been watching and enjoying the way you check your shoulder...Your stance.. Your sweat…Your straight elbow..The way you would hunch on your front foot and then the how your body would bounce as if it had hit a trampoline and the way you would quickly balance of your back foot which would make way for your bat to create an arc for that beautiful square cut of yours...
It is important that India stops searching for next Rahul Dravid.That would be very unfair on the person who is going to occupy no.3. For Dravid will be the greatest No.3 in my books. Next person will simply be the next person.It is important for the Kohli's and Rahane's to understand that they cannot and should not replicate Dravid's style. They have to be themselves...
It wouldn't be a surprise if Dravid releases an autobiography. Can't be sure whether it would be sans controversy, but I am sure among other things it will have its share of good humour. From his columns and prepared speeches , we now know Dravid is a good writer.Probably good is an understatement...
I will be there on April 21 at MAC just for you... Here's hoping that part of your swansong lasts a little longer that evening...
