Rahul Sharad Dravid, nicknamed "The Wall", has been one of the game's most technical batsmen. Maybe the game's last technical batsman too. His records speak for him. However records do not speak fully about this man. The man's humility, dignity all speak volumes about the great man.
Only certain people are destined for greatness. Their talent is visible to everyone. Their talent leaves spectators in awe. They inspires youngsters and spectators. The likes of Viv Richards, Sachin Tendulkar, Adam Gilchrist, Sanath Jayasuriya, Virender Sehwag, MS Dhoni had talent and they were destined to be great cricketers. They inspired many cricketers and many tried copying their techniques. Their technique was simple and also attractive.
On the other hand, men like Rahul Dravid are often classified under the "Bore" category. They tend to waste balls according to some so called critics. What they failed to understand is that, in that batting line up of stroke players, it was Rahul Dravid who held and gave stability. He gave the huge freedom to the others in the line up to play their attractive and attacking strokes. He was the vital cog in the line up. When others around him failed, he often stood up and saved many matches.
I was never a big fan of him before and I really cant remember admiring him in the nineties. But I do remember some of gritty knocks in the nineties. He never inspired me much back then. I do not think he inspired anyone back then. It was Sachin who was more attacking and his batting left many of us in awe. Start 2000, and we see how valuable he was to the batting line up. He was the main reason that India started performing in Tests abroad and clinched many a victory.
He was shunted around in the batting line up but he still proved his worth at every oppurtunity. He was made to don the wicket-keeping gloves and even made to open the batting, both of which he hated the most. But he took it as a chance to discover himself and also came out trumps on most of the occasions. Yes he may not have been the best wicket-keeper but it is because he was not a natural at this. He proved to a capable one though and provided India the extra technical batsman that they needed. I would say he was one of the main reasons why India managed to have a stable batting line up and also reached the finals of the World Cup in 2003.
The first time I really started admiring him was in the match against the Aussies in 2001 at Kotkatta. Having failed in the first test match, he was made to drop down in the line up and VVS Laxman was promoted to the No. 3 position. Spectators had given up any hopes of even saving the match and many walked out of the ground once Sachin had fallen. Out comes Dravid, on antibiotics to kill the dehydration. Conditions were really tough and the place was hell for batsmen. You din't need a good ball to get a batsman out. Just allow the conditions to wear out the batsman and he will get out eventually. But Dravid came out with a great knock. His knock was overshadowed by Laxman's but it was his contribution that mattered and took the game away from the Aussies. He just battled out and hung in there. He did not play the strokes as fluently as Laxman. He went by his strengths and played the best "patient & waiting" game. The bowlers started straying in their lines out of frustration and the batsmen prospered.
Still it was Laxman who was celebrated like a hero. Not many remembered Dravid. He chose to be out of the limelight. His extraordinary concentration marked him apart from the others. His worth was proved on tours abroad where batting was not as easy as in the sub-continent.
He was the best in English conditions. He again scripted a famous win in Adelaide in 2003. He gave India their first series wins in England, New Zealand & West Indies where batting was very difficult. Wickets kept falling around him but he hung in there and dug out special knocks. That is when the spectators started realising his worth. He was the vital cog and he proved to be an invaluable asset to the team. Bowlers had to work hard to get one single wicket. They had to be as patient as him and also stick to their lines. Dravid's approach was simple - be patient and leave out the good balls. Punish the bad balls and make the bowlers to come to his ways. Leave the bowlers frustrated and leave them thinking "Why was I born in this generation?" His immense concentration left the opponents in a haze. Were they not doing the basics right? They would be brilliant sometimes but still Dravid left them in tatters.
He had to move around in the batting order in the ODIs and take up wicket-keeping just to provide the much needed stability. He was selfless. Why didn't Sachin or Ganguly or Kaif take up the gloves? He was made the scapegoat and still he carried on in the best interests of the team.
As a captain his record was decent. However the immense politics within the administration made him restless. He could not lead the side freely. His head was not called for but still he relinquished the captaincy role. He gave up the role when India won in England.
Recently his talent was questioned and he proved his critics wrong again. After the age of 36, he had managed to crack 10 hundreds. He battled out the tough English conditions single handedly and he was the sole hope. Not Tendulkar, not Sehwag. He was the only hope against the moving ball.
He is the only one to have batted over 31000 balls. That alone speaks volumes of his immense concentration power. He holds the record for most catches, the only person to have over 200 catches and a 100 of them abroad - that itself is a record. He is the man people look up whenever India tours abroad.
He was part of the "Fab Four" and that was the golden phase for Indian Test cricket. With over a 10000 runs in ODIs and 13000 runs in Tests, a very selfless and humble attitude, the man stands tall. There maybe a GOD in cricket, there maybe a dashing opener in Sehwag, an aggressive captain in Ganguly, an inspiring and cool leader in Dhoni, an excellent stroke player in Laxman, a dashing all rounder in Yuvraj but India needed a WALL to complement all this. His technique may not be attractive but it was just the thing they needed. A silent player and a hard working and dedicated person who just made his way to greatness. He had to work hard for that. He did not yearn for a farewell Test like some others. He made way for some deserving youngster. He proved he was selfless.
His farewell speech was straight forward and he was calm. Just like his batting technique. He is straight forward in accepting that he could not have handled the media glare and pressure at an age of 18 or 19 like the youngsters of today. He is frank in accepting that these players are better fielders and are better prospects than he used to be. He accepted that they were better in terms of talent. Even after all these mind boggling records and an awe inspiring resume, he is very humble. He may be the last of the cricketers to have played the game as a "gentleman". He never sledged. He just played the game as it should be played. None can fill in those shoes. I doubt if any youngster would show such concentration and selflessness. Most of them yearn for the big strokes and media glare and big bucks. Indian cricket has a huge hole to fill. Anyone can be as attacking as Sachin and dashing as Sehwag. You can see such cricketers every now and then. But none like Dravid. His respect increased by a ton fold after the Bradman oration given by him. His words were clear and frank and a certain calmness was observed.
This is not the sort of farewell he would have expected. Reports of a rift within the team and two disastrous tours abroad would not be a perfect farewell. Still he battled out to keep the team tall. He probably had one bad tour recently and there were many people calling for the heads of the seniors. None was calling for his head. He was the only one who battled single handedly on the disastrous English tour.
India will truly start missing him on their next overseas assignment - a good two years from now. They won't have Dravid to bail them out. I doubt if Laxman would be there either. Nor Sachin. Sachin's shoes can be filled to a certain extent by today's dashing youngsters. But they will realise the true worth of Dravid and Laxman only when India are in tatters in a test abroad and when they need someone to bail them out. The last of the true gentleman cricketers has bid adieu to the game. The next would be Sachin and Laxman. India will then have some very huge voids to fill.
This may not be a good enough tribute to the great man. This is just another note which shows how much Dravid has done for cricket and how much respect he has all over the world and in the minds of spectators everywhere.
Bowlers won't have to tire themselves out anymore for a single wicket. Test Cricket won't be the same anymore. We miss you "The Wall". You may not accept it but you are truly the WALL of Indian cricket. In terms of hard work and dedication he is definitely the true successor of Gavaskar. I doubt if I would be interested in watching India play abroad anymore. I guess the thought would be the same for most of the true Indian fans.
The famous quote will best bring forth Dravid's worth -
"Ganguly: Do or Die
Sehwag: Do Before U Die
Tendulkar: Don't Die Until U Do
Rahul Dravid: Do (Play) Until Bowlers Die"
#Respect. He may not be dashing or attractive but is always reliable.
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