9th of March, 2012. This is the faithful day Dravid announced retirement from all forms of international cricket. And as Dravid retired from playing all forms of international cricket, I'm also announcing my retirement from watching all forms on international cricket.
I watched cricket for Dravid. Which is kind of strange because people turn away from their TV whenever he walked into bat. To the world, he probably is one of the most boring batsmen to watch, but for me he was the most exciting.
The first time I heard of Dravid was when he was making runs for the Karnataka cricket team. There was a lot of excitement around this kid. And I remember the day my dad woke me up from my sleep just so he could show Dravid batting. I was too young to care about some cricketer, and I went back to bed.
During that time all that mattered was that he hailed from the same city as I and I wanted him to do well. So I followed him as he played. Slowly but surely my fondness towards Dravid grew steadily.
Dravid was not the typical cricketer that people tend to fall in love with. He was slow. He didn't have any flashy shots, nor did he hit boundaries at will. He was defensive batsman who preferred to grind the bowling down and play the patience game. That was the classical way of playing cricket. But not everybody has a taste for classical things.
He struggled initially just to keep his place in the team because of his batting style being too slow for the one day format. But he was a wonderful student of the game. He went back, learnt from his experience, readjusted his batting style. He is now among the top run getter in world cricket.
It was very easy to notice that he was not as talent as his peers, nor did he possess their athleticism. There was no divine intervention, or cosmic cos play, or a space ship that delivered this man to play cricket. He was just a normal guy. But what set him apart was his determination and his willingness to work hard no matter what. And he proved that if you have the right attitude, you can stand toe to toe with the talented people.
If you really want to know Dravid, see him when he is struggling with his form. You judge a man not just by looking at him in his best, but also in his worst. It didn't matter for Dravid, if he was in form or not. Every time he walked in, you know he was giving his absolute best, even he was at struggling to just put bat to ball. And he would rather struggle and fight it out in the middle, than surrender his wicket. Didn't matter if it took 100 balls to get 10 runs, but he'd be there, at least to support the other batsman to build a partnership. The ability to hang on, its really special.
Siddhu said “Rahul Dravid is a player who would walk on broken glass if his team asks him to….”, and I sincerely believe he would have done it, if the team meant it literally. He has displayed this quality time and again when he kept wickets for India. Or in his batting trying to accelerate the run rate by taking more risks, instead of going for personal milestones. He opened for India even though he is an opener. He's batted down the order. For Dravid it was always the interest of the team, and as a person he came second.
For me, that was Dravid. You could see it in his eyes every time he walked in to play.
I respect him no just as a sports man, but also as an individual. The way he conducts himself on and off the field. Rarely you would hear about him when he is not playing cricket and almost never for the wrong reasons. In spite of all the fame, he is polite, unassuming and well mannered. He treats people with respect. And he is a genuinely nice human being.
Dravid you have been an inspiration and a major influence in my life. By knowing you, I know I've changed for the better. Thank you for all the good times and the lessons.
I wish you the very best for all his future endeavours.
