As ‘The Great Wall of India’ turns 46, its time to revisit one of the most glittering careers in Indian Cricket. Rahul Dravid, a leader, a selfless contributor and a legend who personified the way game of cricket is played, taught and inspired for the younger generations to come.
Dravid as a teenager debutant at Lord’s made it a point to make sure that the world of cricket takes a notice of him. He slowly, steadily and without any fanfare built a career which served Indian cricket for a long time. As core of the “Fabulous Five” of Indian cricket, Dravid held together many a innings and roles and was one of the most important pillars of the team who immensely contributed to the laying of foundation of world beaters called ‘Team India’.
As a batsman, he was a most consistent rock, as a slip fielder, he had the safest pair of hands and as a captain, he was one of those focused ones who lead India to memorable victories in Caribbean in 2006 and England in 2007.
Dravid was all about timing, whether ensuring a century at Lord’s in his final appearance after missing a debut ton or calling it quits in ODIs after England tour or realising the chinks in batting during Australia tour to bid adieu to test cricket in 2012.
However, the real Dravid has evolved post his retirement. He chose a profession which not many would have ventured into. In his role as a winning coach of Under-19 World Cup 2018, he not only enthused the young bunch of cricketers but also inculcated a professional approach in them to clinically register one of the most one sided Under-19 World Cup tournaments.
Dravid has been a true idol and a real coach for any youngster who wants to learn how to manage own career and passion. As a coach one has to understand that each child is a special talent and has an independent capability and let the youngsters know their true potential and not get carried away with peers having flamboyance, zeal and that extra attitude of going over the board. Dravid has handled it seamlessly very well.
As a coach of Under-19 team, Dravid is phenomenal in a very short tenure. The players coached by him have made it to senior team and players like Prithvi Shaw and Rishabh Pant have proved their mettle in international cricket at a very early stage of their careers. The way Dravid keeps his greatness aside while dealing with youngsters who were not even born when he started playing shows his simplicity, professionalism and integrity towards building a future of Indian Cricket.
A true legend who performed at all levels, contributed immensely to the game and always remained elusive when it came to grabbing the headlines, Rahul Dravid, it’s time for all of us as cricketing fans to say a big ‘Thank You!’ for what you did for Indian Cricket.
P.S. The expressions in the blog reflect the author's appreciation of the legend Dravid and is only a personal viewpoint.
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