If there is one thing in this country, which is comparatively
un-marred by any of those several vices that are presently eating the nation
from within, it is cricket. And by cricket, mind you ladies and gentlemen, I am
talking about whatever happens on the field, and not off it. Whatever happens
after those 11 men, in the India jersey, step on the field carrying with them
the hopes, aspirations and most importantly, belief of a million people on
their shoulders. Whether it turns out to be an unbelievable victory or a
thrashing defeat or a nail-biting encounter, for those 100 overs or the 5 days that
the team is there on the green turf or on the 22 yards, the nation stands as
one. Now this, despite of us being sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic
and republic, rarely happens. Yes, there are other sports, and there is no
disrespect intended to them, but cricket unites a million people like no other
thing does or probably will ever be able to do. There might be two people quarreling
all day over their own political parties, or religious faiths or even for a
berth in a railway compartment, but once the clock strikes 9.30 or 01.30 and
once the Wankhede erupts seeing MSD coming out for the toss, there is a very high probability
that the same two people might forget their day’s endeavors and cheer for the
number 10 jersey guy to get yet another hundred. (Yeah, I know he has retired.)
Cricket binds, it ties together a majority of that 1.2 billion ‘not-so-compatible-with-each-other’
Indians for eight straight hours. Now that is some achievement.
When the entire nation is glued to their television sets or
to those big LED screens at the stadium itself, with tricolors wrapped around
their bodies, there are people who are actually carrying the load and the
pressure of all these eyes which are fixed upon them in the hope that they will
do it once again for the country; In the hope that they will, once again, give
them (the people) an opportunity to light some crackers and dance wildly in the
middle of the night when India thrash Pakistan by 10 wickets. This piece of
work is a dedication to one such man who did it for the nation days after days,
years after years for 16 straight years. No matter at what position he was made
(or rather had to) bat at, or what condition the team was in, or how hefty the
run deficit was, or how difficult the wicket was to bat on, he was the guy who
did his job amazingly well beyond all expectations. That is why whenever his
name comes up in a discussion, the first thing that strikes my mind, is the epic
dialogue once said by Harsha Bhogle—
“If you ask him to walk on ice, he would say, “Okay, how
many kilometers?”
I mean, India doesn’t have openers, will you open the
batting?
“Yes.”
“ The openers are doing a really good job, we need to accelerate,
and we are sending in power hitters, can you bat down the order?”
“Okay.”
“Both the openers have been dismissed cheaply, will you bat
at number 3 and steady the ship?”
“Okay.”
“We need you to keep wickets, as there is no place for a
regular keeper (or we don’t have one), lest to disturb the balance of the team.
Will you?”
“Okay.” (He kept wickets in spite of being a non-regular
keeper throughout the entire 2003 world cup)
Yes, there are no guesses involved here, we are talking
about the only ‘wall’ of the country(be it physical or psychological) which is
yet to be breached.
Rahul Sharad Dravid, as the name goes, happens to be one of those pillars of Indian cricket which would always be a source of unending inspiration and an un-exhaustible source of light which would always show the correct path to all the descendants of the game. When India batted second, and no matter what the condition of the match was at any particular point of time, once I saw a ‘not out’ against R Dravid or when I saw that he was yet to bat, I always assured myself that even if something drastic happens from here on, he was there and will definitely do the job of a silent guardian, and our progress may be slow but will unquestionably be steady. He will keep the score board ticking with those singles and doubles and being the classy batsman that he is, he would find the odd boundary whenever the asking rate crept up. Every time I saw Dravid walking back to the pavilion, my heart broke, because now I knew that even though a win might be just around the corner, but now, since the anchor of the team has been dismissed, there may be a few hiccups here and there. I mean, with that Indian team of the 90’s and up to 2003-04(the Tendulkar dependent era) we could always expect the words “I will join you soon” when the dismissed batsman and the incoming batsman crossed their ways. But not now, because there is this guy named Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who literally baits the opposition throughout the entire time for which he is at the crease telling them that, “Yes, you have got a chance of winning the contest”, only to make a joke out of their attempts in the final overs and hand India a nail-biting successful finish. And now, we are getting used to it. Anyways, let’s leave Dhoni for some other day, and come back to the ‘Chinnaswamy’s Heart-Throb’.
Now what made me throw away my laziness and pen down this
piece of work was a video on You Tube that I was watching last night. It was Dravid’s
felicitation ceremony organized by the BCCI, and throughout his entire farewell
speech the sentence which he used most
often was—“Playing for India humbled me.” Yes, being humble! That was
one of the most valuable asset that Dravid had and which was on display through
out those 16 glorious years that he had spent with the Indian dressing room. Not
on one occasion did we find him engaging in a verbal spat with the opposition
fast bowler who continuously threw short pitched stuff and gave him glares mixed
with the ever so friendly (non-agitating) words. In fact, he was one of the few
men in the Indian cricket team who would successfully hook the short-pitched deliveries
over the fence, and the fine leg or the square leg fielder would merely be a
spectator.
We all remember what Michael Slater once said, expressing deep regret after trying to break Dravid’s concentration—“Sledging against Dravid was one of the biggest mistakes.”
And also Dhoni’s lines at the adieu ceremony—
“In today's flamboyant world, where people think aggression is mostly
verbal, he was someone who would never say a word to the opposition. He would
keep it to himself, and make sure that when he is on the field, whether it is
with a brilliant catch or helping the skipper or being the skipper or planning
something for the batsman or staying at the crease, make the most out of it to
get India win a game. He was someone who would channelize all the aggression
and the discomfort that was given to him by the opponents in the best possible
manner."
That says it all. That is Rahul Dravid for you ladies and gentlemen. The perfect example of patience, perseverance and concentration blended with talent, class and a God bestowed gift of exquisite timing and placement as mentioned on several occasions by Ravi Shastri and Sunil Gavaskar. The moment that red cherry left his willow towards the cover, extra cover or the point boundary, literally piercing the packed off-side field, as the opposition captain used to set against him, there was no stopping it. And the vintage Dravid shots such as the off drive, cover drive and typical Dravid square cut were on display. And Mr. Gavaskar, as he so often does, began applauding by his typical lines—
“Magnificent shot. Look at the head
position. It’s so still… He got behind the line of the ball, on the front-foot and
drove it past the cover fielder for four runs. What a timing and placement! And
the footwork too…”
He literally owned the square-cut for all those 16
years that he played international cricket. There were very few gentlemen in the
international sphere who could play that particular shot as good as he did.
Also, what lures me every time to follow Dravid and his way of living life were
his own words at the same thanksgiving evening—
“ I have experienced, like I said, great joys. I have experienced some unbelievable
victories, and I have experienced crushing defeats in my career as a first
class cricketer. You know, what I have realized with it is that everything does
pass, and you know, we can endure and we can survive. It humbled me; I think playing for India
humbled me, it really appreciated… it made me appreciate how lucky I was, you
know, to be able to do what I did for so long.”
The fact that despite everything that he faced throughout his international career, from staggering hundreds to first ball ducks, from hitting the winning runs to being accused for playing too slow, he had the will and determination that deterred him from getting distracted, either form the success, or the failure and made him even more focused on the one job that he was always supposed to do, and that was-- To play for India.
For an international cricketer, or any sports person for that
sake, it is really very hard to be focused and perform consistently on a regular
basis without being distracted by whatever is going around you. I mean, it’s
not simple at all. It’s not that easy as it looks on the television screen. I mean,
to travel the world, adjust to foreign conditions, to let go of the ‘war of
words’ that the opposition (particularly England and Australia) launches in those ‘much talked about’ press conferences,
to get used to the pace of the pitch, to keep yourself fit and running and most
importantly, to perform when you are required to regularly despite the busy
calendar takes a toll on the cricketers. And to come out on top, despite all these
roadblocks is what characterizes this man. Though, many of us remembered or
still remember him as someone who scored 1 off 23 balls before getting
played-on to a wide Jason Gillespie delivery during a league game of the 2003
world cup, or remember him as the captain of the team which had a disastrous
2007 World Cup, I choose to differ. There are lean phases in everyone’s life
and Dravid is no exception. In fact, the
way a player reacts to these situations and circumstances, and the way he
recovers and comes back, is what defines his greatness. And that is what Dravid
has done on countless number of occasions.
I rather choose to remember him as the only guy who scored
back to back centuries in the last calamitous tour of England where the world
champions were humbled 0-4, making it one of the worst outings that the team
ever had. I choose to remember him as
the guy who along with the ‘Very Very Special’ Laxman, (who himself had kangaroos for breakfast, lunch
and dinner) gave nightmares to the then World champions on many occasions, two
of which have been imprinted on to the memories of the Aussies and of course
the Indians, forever. The first one being the most celebrated ‘Eden Gardens’ test
of 2001 where we literally thrashed them
after recovering from follow-on. Not to forget that impeccable 281 not out by
VVS Laxman who was brilliantly assisted by Dravid who himself scored a majestic
hundred. Now that test, marked a turning point in the history of the
India-Australia rivalry. It gave the much needed air to the Indian side of the
flame, which was there previously, but lacking the heat. The fire, which then
built up, led to many more accomplishments against them in the subcontinent, as well as, down under.
This brings me to the second one of those ever rejoiced victories
which came on their soil this time around. It was the famous Adelaide test of India’s
tour of Australia in 2004. Once again, it was Dravid-Laxman partnership that proved out to be the barricade between the
Aussies and a probable victory. And you know what was even more heart-warming ?
Dravid’s gesture after hitting the winning runs. He hit a cover drive to the
boundary, pumped the air, roared in ecstasy, removed his Test cap and kissed it.
That was how much he loved playing and winning it for the country. He then after,
spread his arms and saluted the crowd, for whom he did it every single time he
represented Team India.
I choose to remember him as the captain of the team who gave our first overseas test-series victory in England as well as the West Indies. I choose to remember him, as the guy who has this record of hitting a century in both the innings of a test match; a guy who on countless occasions with his patience and the ability to bat for long hours saved the game for India; a guy who holds the world record for maximum number of catches by a non-wicket keeper in test matches; a guy who belongs to the elite 10,000 run club, both in the test matches, as well as the ODI. I would forever remember him as the guy who, in those chain of victories that the team had batting second after the 2007 World Cup, played a pivotal role through his 50’s, 60’s and even sometimes 90’s and centuries and guided the team home on several occasions. There are many more reasons for which I would remember him and would also rate him as the most consistent Indian cricketer that I’ve ever known. (Even after being a die-hard SRT fan)
The epitome of humbleness, the brand ambassador of
greatness, a true gentleman is what Rahul Sharad Dravid is. I’ve left aside his
accomplishments and deeds off the field for now. You can read it here only to realize
how good a person he was in real life as well.
To the man who contributed so much to Indian cricket that now
the number 3 spot, which lies vacant, would be very hard to fill in. There are
many talented youngsters coming in but to fit into Dravid’s shoes is not going
to be a walk in the park at all; To our unsung hero (hard reality), to one of
the best that the world has ever seen, to The Wall— Rahul Dravid.
We love you.
You will be missed.
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