Rahul Dravid's Retirement - End of A Glorious Innings
On Friday, March 9, in Banglore an eagerly awaited announcement was to be made with pressmen crowding at the venue and came these words: " What I'm about to say is meant for you as a friend....On Friday, I'll be retiring from international cricket." The world already knew whose mouth these words came from!! He was one of the greatest players the world of cricket has seen and thus the curtain comes down on one of the most glittering cricket careers of a cricketer who is adored,respected by one and all. Rahul Sharad Dravid hangs up his bat by announcing his retirement from Test cricket. He severed his relationship with the shorter version of the game a little earlier. Shock that is well written over the faces of his fans and admirers is quite palpable . The great game has seen the sunset of careers of too many great batsmen and it would be sooner than later that things would fall back in their places as usual. In this emotion-filled hour when his co-players ,friends and others who have only great and good things to say about his stellar performances in a career which spanned over sixteen long years. It is better to make a fair and critical assessment of what has been his contribution to Indian cricket which we can call Dravid's legacy to Indian cricket.
When Rahul Dravid batted his way into Team India way back in 1996 he had already earned some reputation being a thinking and decent person with impregnable defense. He along with Sourav Gangully made their test debuts against England at the same venue. While Sourav stroked his way into making one of the sparkling Test centuries in his very first appearance which he followed up with another in the very next test match, Rahul missed that rare honor by a whisker! He fell short of four runs of what could have been a rare milestone for India of two Indian players making it! Such strokes of misfortune in the career of one of the most versatile and prolific batsmen that India ever produced were not rare in his long career. But what must have impressed the cognoscenti of this game that Rahul Dravid never compromised with the principles which he held dear - come hell or high waters! A thoroughbred gentleman trained in the rigors of self-discipline and self-motivation, every time he walked into the crease, he was a simple revelation!
A mere glance at his career statistics would reveal his awesome presence and awe-inspiring on-field performance. Among his exploits which compel attention are the fact of being the only batsman registering centuries in all Test playing nations, making 94 consecutive appearances, the only No.3 batsman scoring more than 10000 runs, facing the highest number of balls 31258 in Test ,holding the highest number of catches so on and so forth. Truly a saga of a mortal's dertermined bid to scale the peak of excellence!
His purple cricket career could be divided into three distinct parts. In the initial years he displayed a great temperament in staying defensive and almost played orthodox cricket. The reason being defensive with greater reliance on time-tested defensive techniques might have been a realization which grew in his mind to cement his place in the team as number 1 batsman in the batting order. How mature was his approach at such a young age could be seen from his countless number of matches saving the country from the shame of defeats or face-saving draws both home and away. His stout and dogged defense earned him the sobriquet 'Mr. Wall'!! What a stupendous honor ! While he remained a seasoned pro in the field. Always out there to defend the honor of India with the same kind of steadfastness and consistency over a period spanning long sixteen years. What is so remarkable about Rahul Dravid and his brilliant career in eras when the complexion of the game has changed from a gentleman's game to a decadent street-fighters' one!
Rahul Dravid ,who hails from a middle-class family which sets great store by the principles of honesty, truthfulness and hard-work, has imbibed them in his character so well that there have been hardly any detractors. Going back to second phase of his cricket career which saw him blossoming into one of the greatest batsmen of the game by combining some lethal attacking shots in his batting armory shedding all the impression of being too defensive. How many innings he so successfully played beginning quietly to consolidate a shaky situation to finally launch a blistering counter-attack! There were one too many! He was selfless enough to be the most favorite player of any captain. No captain ever met a 'no' from this great cricketer. If he was asked to bat down the order or even keep wickets, he would gladly respond positively and would be as successful. His association with other greats like our batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Gangully and VVS Laxman was one of deep understanding and love and respect. He never strove to be another Tendulkar or anyone but very much remain his own. His contribution to the success of others has truly phenomenal. He was the one who laid the foundation of some great innings of Sachin and others. Never was he one who felt impressed with flamboyance or ostentation. He rose to become captain of Team India and enjoyed moderate success. Here again he displayed his usual self-effacing personality by quitting it on his own. Another rare precedent!
Perhaps the final phase of his career saw Rahul Dravid in his true elements Drawing on all his rich experience in the first two phases, he started batting more solidly than before. He is the one with a fantastic career average of above 52 in the Test matches he played. He is the one with a better average of 53 in away matches with 88 century partnerships displaying his great ability to forge partnerships with any player. The distinction of holding second place in the number runs scored in Test cricket to stand only behind Sachin Tendulkar and scoring ten thousand runs in both Test and One-day format goes to this titan of a cricketer with a lion's heart. It would be futile to construct Rahul Dravid statistically. His self-effacing persona exuding quiet confidence had a rub-off effects among the players in the dressing room.
Questions are bound to be raised if Dravid could not have played a few years more or couldn't he have taken this decision in the English tour itself when he was in roaring form? Let these remain unanswered for the moment! Once great Vijay Merchant said on the timing of retirement that one should retire when people are asking 'Why' not 'Why Not'! In Dravid's case all his admirers would be wondering with 'Whys' not 'Why Nots' !
It is quite interesting to note the reactions of the cricket world. Glowing praises came from his team-mates as well as players from other countries. It is not necessary to dwell upon these comments which Dravid richly deserve but one thing which runs very common in these is that all are agreed that the cricket world has not seen too many cricketing characters of his sublimity. He epitomized dignity,class and charm. Indian cricket pantheon would have one more icon who would always inspire hundreds and thousands of youngsters not just for batting the right way but to lead life the right way! Hats off to you, Rahul Dravid!
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