The saga of “Rahul Dravid”

The last time I wrote a blog was almost an year ago, when India won the World Cup at Wankhede. A lot of things have changed since the night of 2^nd April, 2011. Unfortunately, a lot of those things have changed for worse, like India losing their last eight overseas tests in a row. Rahul Dravid stood out in the first four of these tests like a pillar or “The Wall” as he has been famously known. However, he flopped so miserably in the last four and it is no surprise that he has decided to call it a day.

I can write pages and pages about RD and that would still not suffice but I will try to pen down few instances and facts that might explain that why every true cricket lover is going to miss Rahul Dravid.

Rahul Dravid made his debut for India in some Asia cup like event after the World Cup in 1996 in Padang, Singapore. I still remember watching him on TV and wondering who this guy is and what he is up to. He did not last long enough though in his first ODI. Nevertheless India did not qualify for the finals of that tournament and I thought we might never hear of these two guys again (the other one was Vikram Rathore who had managed to impress the selectors). That was not to be since RD was selected for the Indian tour to England in the summer of 1996, and boy, what an eventful summer that was. India did not shine against the English but there are plenty of things that have made the series memorable for me. The arrival of RD and Dada was the highlight of the tour. I also do remember a story that I read in India Today some 12 years ago. When India was playing at Lords, Venkatesh Prasad and RD were at Mecca of Cricket for the first time in their lives. They came to know that if a batsman hits a century or a bowler takes a fiver, he gets his name on the board of honour in the dressing room at Lords. Venky and RD talked to each other and said “Lets strive to get there”. RD missed his century by 5 runs but Venky actually got there. Another highlight of the tour was Sidhu announcing his retirement following a spat with Azharuddin and Harsha Bhogle making an impression with his commentary.

RD had a wonderful tour and became a near permanent member for India subsequently, though his ODI skills were always under the scanner. India toured South Africa in December 1996 and RD’s skill against the pace bowling was evident when he top-scored for India with 27* when the entire team was bundled for a paltry 66 in Kingsmead. Overall, India did no harm to their reputation of poor tourists as they lost the first test quickly and the second one too (though there was an interesting phase in the second one when SRT and Azhar launched a counter-attack against the SA pacers and both got to their centuries). However, the third test was a moment of glory when RD hit his maiden test century and followed it up with an equally brilliant 80 in the second innings. India could not win the match as the weather and the umpires (not to forget Daryll Cullinan’s century) conspired to deny India a victory.

RD also had a pretty good ODI series in SA and made rapid strides to be amongst the starting XI for any game that India played. RD had arrived.

The next superlative performance that I remember was when India toured NZ in December 1998. RD became one of the few Indians to have hit two centuries in two innings of the same test. India still lost the test series while the ODI series was drawn (2-2, if I am not wrong). However, it was during this tour that RD became a permanent member of the ODI team. RD did not disappoint his fans as he went on to become the highest run getter (with 461 runs) in the WC in the summer of 1999, though it was Lance Klusener who stole the thunder.

As India took on the Aussies in 2001 (something that was known as the final frontier to Steve Waugh’s invincibles), RD was going through a period of rather wretched form. On the other hand, Laxman, who probably was having the best time of his life, was promoted to #3 while Dravid was demoted to #6. Following on in the second test at Kolkata and already 4 down, the duo stood together for over a day to deny and deflate the Aussies attack, which until that point had virtually looked unstoppable. The 4^th day of Eden test is almost like “Sholay”, something which happens once in many many years. And Prem Panicker wrote on rediff “If it is possible for RD and VVS Laxman to bat for an entire day, then it might also be possible for me to walk on water and convert a jugful of that water into sparkling champagne”.

The World Cup of 2003: RD as the wicketkeeper-batsman:

The only thing people remember about the Natwest series of 2002 was the Dada moment, bare-chested and waving his shirt in the balcony of Lords as the entire team ran to hug Md. Kaif in the middle. Dada made a statement and so did Yuvi and Kaif. However, something that I still remember is the fact that RD started to keep wickets from this series (more on a continuous basis, before that wicket-keeping was an on/off thing). This allowed the team management to play an extra batsman, and with Sachin, Dada, Sehwag, Dravid, Yuvi, Laxman/Mongia and Kaif, the team did resemble a batting powerhouse. That was a huge step that RD took, again all in the interests of the team. RD also had an amazing test series where he amassed close to 600 runs.

As India went into the WC, they looked a rather battered and bruised team coming from NZ (where they had lost the test series 2-0 and ODI series 5-2). As if that was not enough, they struggled to beat Holland in the first game and then got all out for 125 against Australia. Effigies were burnt and colas and other products were boycotted, as is the norm in India. However, the team regrouped and went from strength to strength. RD kept wickets and batted the way he does- solidly. Nobody can forget the innings that Sachin played against Pak but not many people would remember that it was the hundred run partnership between RD and Yuvi that eventually took India home. India lost the final to Australia but overall it was a pretty successful campaign.

In the next 12 months that followed, RD had two very successful tours to Australia and Pakistan, the latter being the place where he has scored his highest test score (270) in the decider test. Overall, India enjoyed their golden period as the team did quite well under the Dada-Wright combination; RD’s contribution during this period was immense.

RD: the captain

However, all good things must come to an end so did the golden age, for once. John Wright bid goodbye to India and Greg Chappell (or Guru Greg as the Indian media fondly called him) walked in as the new coach. Dada’s form as a batsman had touched an all time low and Chappell made it clear that the time had come for Ganguly to go. Ganguly was axed as the captain and later as a batsman too. Dravid, who was indeed the natural successor to Dada, became the captain. India did enjoy moderate success under RD like winning the test series against the WI for the first time in 35 years in 2006. The period also saw the emergence of MS Dhoni, whom Chappell had already labelled as the next big thing in international cricket. However, the first round exit in the WC in 2007 was a huge blow to RD as a captain. What followed thereafter was quite chaotic with Chappell quitting as the blame game began. RD did not resign as the captain immediately after as he led India to a historic test series victory against England in England in 2007. However, he had only delayed his decision to quit, probably wanting to resign on a high than after a failure. He immediately announced his decision to quit as the captain once the England tour finished. It was quite an interesting period in the history of Indian cricket as the selectors appointed MS Dhoni as the captain for the inaugural World T20 event in SA. The older brigade comprising Dada, SRT and RD opted out of the T20 event and India, famously led by Dhoni went on to win the trophy. However as India played tests, at no point did RD’s form dip or he became a liability to the team. Instead, he stood there, as solid as a rock and became a role model to the youngsters. It is no surprise that Indian media, so famous for sensationalizing things, were never able to write anything remotely mischievous about RD.

India started on a new journey as Anil Kumble became the test captain while Dhoni led the team in ODIs. RD was considered too old for ODIs and hence was no longer a part of the Indian ODI squad. His test form also started to deteriorate and RD was no longer the ever bankable batsman for a while. However, he fought through this rather lean phase in his career and still did reasonably well. The fact that he was recalled to the ODI side for the one of the many series that India has played against Lanka and the subsequent Champions trophy in 2009 showed that the selectors never doubted his ability in ODIs either. He was only sidelined for the supposedly bright stars (like Rohit Sharma and Robin Uthappa) but these bright stars never shone like a star. Instead, they were mere fuljhadis.

Post Champions trophy, RD was again dropped from the ODI side since India were not scheduled to play a challenging ODI series (say in SA or in Australia). RD continued to turn up for India for tests and did quite well though he did not match the usual standards that he had set. Quite expectedly, he was not a part of the WC winning squad in 2011 which is quite saddening actually. He had one of the best tours of his lifetime when India toured England in the summer of 2011. India were whitewashed 4-0 in the test series but only one MAN stood tall amongst the ruins.

As always he was a team man and did all that he could do in the interests of the team. Opened the batting, made all the runs and stood in the slips to grab any edges (there were not many though, thanks to the pathetic bowling). One moment deserves special mention is the last test in the England, though. He opened the batting for India, carried his bat right through the innings and as India followed on, he was there to open again. Honestly, it was a moment of disbelief to me. How could the team management expect so much from a mere mortal? As if that was not enough, the selectors also named him in the squad for the ODIs and the lone T20 that India were scheduled to play in England. RD obviously was not amused and announced his retirement from the ODIs, but only after fulfilling the assignment that he was given.

Thereafter he played for India against the WI in India and against the Aussies in Australia. His last series turned out to be a huge disappointment unfortunately. He hardly scored anything and by the time the series finished, I had little doubt that RD will ever play for India again, especially given his nature and no-nonsense approach. He announced his retirement this morning, putting a full stop to a glorious era.

RD has enticed us as much as with his batting as he has with his immaculate behaviour (whether on or off field) and his true sense of sportsmanship.

Personally, if I have idolised any player, not just for his skills but also for his overall personality, RD has topped the list (Kumble probably is the next). RD is also the most selfless player that I have seen playing for India and it is highly unlikely that I will see someone else like him in my lifetime. Respect is the only word that comes to my mind when I think about all the contribution that he has made to Indian cricket. He may have been overshadowed so many times while playing for India (by Sourav Ganguly in Taunton or by Sachin Tendulkar at Headingley or byVVS Laxman in Kolkata) but I can assure you that he has won many more hearts.

You are truly a legend, Sir and you will be sorely missed. Wishing you all the best in all your future endeavours.

Disclaimer: Most of the facts that I have stated here are based on my memory, I did not bother to google the same. There might be minor errors here and there (like umpiring errorsJ ). As I finished this, I also realised that I forgot to mention the catches that RD has taken in slips. Will probably need to write a follow up to this blog.