The shadow...

Out of Syllabus 29

1996 Lords Test.
This test will be remembered as the debut test for two of India's most prolific cricketers. Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. But more famously it is remembered for the debut century of Ganguly. Same as in his entire career Dravid's innings was in the shadow. And thus began the journey of THE WALL or rather THE SHADOW as i would like to call him.
When i write this Rahul Dravid will no more wear the Indian cap, which he treasures the most. It may not mean so much for others, who supports swashbuckling players who throws his bat at everything, and completely ignores the contribution of the players like Dravid, Laxman & Kumble. But for me, its end of an era. And may be passion towards cricket too.

Many started following cricket after watching Sachin play. and they were right to do so. But i started loving cricket after watching Dravid play. Since that innings against Srilanka in 1999 WC, Dravid has been my favorite player in all sorts of sports (Remember I am a die hard fan of Man Utd too.) 1999 have been career changing year for Dravid too. From being stamped as average ODI player, he went on to become the top scorer of that WC. He also became a pillar stone along with Sachin, Ganguly, Kumble & Srinath upon which Indian team was built after the match fixing scam.
Some times there comes a situation when even God himself could do nothing, but even during those drastic conditions THE WALL stood strong. The masochist in Dravid comes out in challenging situations. Swinging, bouncy pitches of England and Australia are the places where Dravid triumphed. How many times we have seen him, rescuing India. Kolkata, Adleide,  and loads more.
As in an article by Vedam Jaishankar, who wrote Dravid's Biography, Jaishanker made a point by saying that, Dravid is a perfect example for a typical middle class Indian, who triumphed due to his hardwork alone. And he was true too. Dravid, compared to the likes of Sachin or Ganguly, had lesser inborn talent. But he worked hard, competing with himself, evolving, correcting himself, learning from his mistakes. His innings were built up ball by ball. He stood painfully patient. All his innings have the smell of blood and sweat.
Mike Hussey is known as Mr Cricket, but i dont know how he became so when Dravid is here. A perfect example for a team man, Dravid always considered the benefit of the team only. He even kept wickets so the team could afford another batsman. He never complained. He took it as a challenge and fought with himself. He maintained a higher standard of batting record when he kept wickets. He took responsibility in his shoulders and stepped down from captaincy, when India crashed out of WC 2006.Everyone told he is not suitable for ODI. But it was his presence at one end, which helped other youngsters like Yuvaraj and later Raina to play their natural game. His records alone speak about how good a player he is in all formats of game.
Now its time to say good bye to him. It hurts when i realize that he wont be padding up, to save Indian innings from yet another collapse. But looking forward to see him as captain and mentor of Rajasthan Royals. He is perfect mentor for youngsters like Rahane and Meneria. And we are watching the other side of Dravid in IPL. Aggressive batting, shouting at fielders, Exchanging words with bowlers, expressing his joy at a wicket, captaining brilliantly and last but not least one among the top run getter.
"There was and is only one Rahul Dravid. There can be no other. I will miss Rahul in the dressing room and out in the middle" - Sachin Tendulkar. What else we require, than the words from the master itself, to prove the worth of Rahul Dravid.