An apology, a tribute and a request to Jammy

Among the various crimes I am guilty of as a cricket fan,, the most heinous of them all is not celebrating Rahul Dravid to the extent he deserved. And I am not alone in this by any means. There are scores of fans in this cricket-crazy nation who are guilty of the same offense. The reason for this is not hard to fathom – Rahul Dravid has lived in the shadow of a Sachin or a Ganguly for most parts of his career or rather has been seen in the shadow of the other icons in his time. Having said this, I write an apology, a tribute and a request to the ever dependable, rock solid “Wall”.

In a career that spanned 16 years, Rahul Dravid was a great ambassador for the game of cricket. There was an air of simplicity about the man; yet he was a class act. He didn’t have the flamboyance of a Lara or the brilliance of a Sachin; but what he did have was the right attitude and an appetite to make it big. A great temperament coupled with a sound technique has made Dravid the legend he is. He doesn’t play the fancy upper cuts over the slip cordon or doesn’t come dancing down the track to smash bowlers out of the ground; but what he does and does best is bat long hours.

First, a tribute to Jammy’s technique. Dravid has scored more prolifically overseas in seaming, fast tracks than the flat tracks back home. 21 of his 36 Test centuries have come abroad; also his Test batting average is higher abroad than in India. These statistics are testimony to Dravid’s sound and superior batting technique. Talking of temperament; the fact that Dravid has taken on any role the team has asked him to play is proof of his exemplary character. He has kept wickets in ODIs to accommodate an extra batsman, opened the batting in Tests when the regular openers are out of form, and when the need arose, even dropped down the batting order. Not many people can do this. Sachin, for example, was never comfortable batting in the middle order; he always wanted to open the innings in the ODIs. Dravid, however, had no such complaints; so much so people take his versatility for granted. His versatility is not given the credit it deserves.

So how has the man been so successful in juggling different roles? I believe it’s his meticulous approach and penchant for detail that drives his success. In a column his wife Vijeeta wrote when Dravid announced his retirement, she mentions how Dravid does shadow practice and meditation to constantly improve his technique and concentration levels. As for his penchant for detail, she mentions in the article how he would instantly know if his bat weighed a gram extra and that he had done sweat analysis to find how his batting would be affected by him sweating profusely.

Another aspect of Dravid’s game which has not received due credit is his fielding. Dravid was an excellent slip fielder and has also done a good job in other close in catching positions. Looking at India’s slip cordon today, one gets the feeling India misses Dravid the slip fielder more than Rahul the batsman. With 210 catches, Dravid holds the record for the most number of catches in Test cricket. Talking of records and distinctions, Rahul has also been ranked the third greatest Test batsman of all time, only behind the Don Bradman and Sachin Tendulkar. He also was the first batsman to score centuries in all Test playing nations.

Dravid is one of those rare cricketers who is loved world over and not just in India. He is a perfect ambassador for the Gentleman’s Game. He has stayed clear of controversies throughout his career. One would never see Rahul Dravid sledging, swearing or losing his cool on the cricket field or even off it. As Matthew Hayden put it – “All this going around is not aggression. If you want to see aggression of the cricket field, look into Rahul Dravid’s eyes.” The likes of Kohli, Sreesanth and Gambhir would do well to learn aggression the Rahul Dravid way. There is a lighter side to the otherwise shy Dravid, of which I am a big fan. In the 2007-08 series against Australia, Rahul didn’t score a run for about 30 balls towards the end of day’s play and the crowd started jeering. When he finally scored a single, there was a loud cheer from the crowd which Rahul duly acknowledged with the raise of his bat. Rahul’s Bakra Episode on MTV still brings a smile to one’s face.

Time to don a new cap?

Rahul Dravid has had a very illustrious career and has been instrumental in setting up many famous Indian victories. As Rahul turns forty and as team India is going through a rebuilding and transition phase, one gets the feeling India needs Dravid in a new avatar now. In an era of cricket dominated by T20s, where batsmen throw away their wickets far too cheaply, where the Dilscoops and the switch hits have taken precedence over the orthodox pull or cover drive, Indian cricket is going to struggle to find a purist like Dravid. However, it is Test cricket that will eventually determine the success of a cricket team and a player. India needs Rahul with his wealth of experience in a coaching capacity to convert the Kohlis and the Rainas into successful test cricketers. Will the man who has donned any hat thrown at him by his team don this one too ?