Another one in the series on my favourite cricketers.......
When I started following Cricket in 1982, Test Cricket was paramount. To judge a batsman, the qualities to look for were watertight defence, knowing where the off stump is, supreme powers of concentration, ability to play long innings, taking a fresh guard after completing the first 100 and so on. The man who was the epitome of all these qualities was Sunil Gavaskar.
Then from the mid and late eighties batsmanship started changing. ODI's started becoming more and more important. Strike rates started being watched. In India Sachin Tendulkar entered the scene with his dazzling strokeplay and attacking style of batsmanship. Sachin became the 'God of Cricket'. Scoring runs quickly became the norm.
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Amid all this emerged Rahul Dravid. He made his debut in 1996 scoring 95 at Lord's. His style of batting was a throwback to the era when batsmen would build an innings and would play the sheet anchor role. Dravid quickly became the sheet anchor of Indian Batting. He was first called Mr. Dependable of Indian cricket and then he was christened 'The Wall'.
This was due to his consistent performances against the best bowlers in the world both home and away. The bowlers were finding it more difficult to dislodge Dravid than even Tendulkar. Sachin would attack them and hence give them a chance, but they found Dravid's defence and concentration impregnable.
He made major contributions to some of India's most famous wins during this phase, beating Australia in Adelaide in 2004, (Dravid scored 248 and 72 no ) beating Pakistan in Pakistan (Dravid made 270), India reaching the WC finals in 2003, India winning the test series in West Indies and England. Just for the team's cause he agreed to don the gloves in ODI's.
There is long list of his cricketing achievements. But the reason I like him is the way he did it. He was hard work and dedication personified. Even though for most of his career he was overshadowed by Sachin, this just didn't matter to him. For him the number one priority was that he does everything he can in the ineterest of the side. In fact, in Test Cricket, purely by how he performed when it mattered the most, I rate him even higher than Sachin.
He never hankered after money and commercial gain.
His fighting spirit, his gentle ways, his humility, his demeanour on the feild, his intellectual ability (a rarity among sportsmen !!), his knowledge of the history and traditions of the game, all these made him someone I hold in the highest esteem.
He epitomized to me everything that is noble and admirable about this great game. He was for me the last link between the great traditions of the game when it was played by Amateurs to the slam-bang style and commercialization of the modern game.
If we ever have to describe to our grandchildren how a ideal Cricketer should be like, Rahul Dravid will serve as the perfect example.
He played in a team which had some of the most towering stalwarts in the history of Indian cricket, yet he was 'The Wall' of that team.
A man of steel, yet a perfect gentleman.......................
When I started following Cricket in 1982, Test Cricket was paramount. To judge a batsman, the qualities to look for were watertight defence, knowing where the off stump is, supreme powers of concentration, ability to play long innings, taking a fresh guard after completing the first 100 and so on. The man who was the epitome of all these qualities was Sunil Gavaskar.
Then from the mid and late eighties batsmanship started changing. ODI's started becoming more and more important. Strike rates started being watched. In India Sachin Tendulkar entered the scene with his dazzling strokeplay and attacking style of batsmanship. Sachin became the 'God of Cricket'. Scoring runs quickly became the norm.
Amid all this emerged Rahul Dravid. He made his debut in 1996 scoring 95 at Lord's. His style of batting was a throwback to the era when batsmen would build an innings and would play the sheet anchor role. Dravid quickly became the sheet anchor of Indian Batting. He was first called Mr. Dependable of Indian cricket and then he was christened 'The Wall'.
This was due to his consistent performances against the best bowlers in the world both home and away. The bowlers were finding it more difficult to dislodge Dravid than even Tendulkar. Sachin would attack them and hence give them a chance, but they found Dravid's defence and concentration impregnable.
He made major contributions to some of India's most famous wins during this phase, beating Australia in Adelaide in 2004, (Dravid scored 248 and 72 no ) beating Pakistan in Pakistan (Dravid made 270), India reaching the WC finals in 2003, India winning the test series in West Indies and England. Just for the team's cause he agreed to don the gloves in ODI's.
There is long list of his cricketing achievements. But the reason I like him is the way he did it. He was hard work and dedication personified. Even though for most of his career he was overshadowed by Sachin, this just didn't matter to him. For him the number one priority was that he does everything he can in the ineterest of the side. In fact, in Test Cricket, purely by how he performed when it mattered the most, I rate him even higher than Sachin.
He never hankered after money and commercial gain.
His fighting spirit, his gentle ways, his humility, his demeanour on the feild, his intellectual ability (a rarity among sportsmen !!), his knowledge of the history and traditions of the game, all these made him someone I hold in the highest esteem.
He epitomized to me everything that is noble and admirable about this great game. He was for me the last link between the great traditions of the game when it was played by Amateurs to the slam-bang style and commercialization of the modern game.
If we ever have to describe to our grandchildren how a ideal Cricketer should be like, Rahul Dravid will serve as the perfect example.
He played in a team which had some of the most towering stalwarts in the history of Indian cricket, yet he was 'The Wall' of that team.
A man of steel, yet a perfect gentleman.......................
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