There are some sports personalities ranging from Lance Armstrong to Andre Agassi, Bjorn Borg to Steve Waugh who have defied the adversity and champions of the time to emerge as Champions themselves. These players have made the sporting arena all the more beautiful and competitive. For me Rahul Dravid is one of these players who have adorned the sports with performances and impeccable persona. In this aura when indiscipline and hooliganism are the order of the sporting world Rahul Dravid has restored cricket as a gentleman’s game. Let’s have a look at the journey of this great ambassador for cricket in particular & sports in general.

RAHUL DRAVID – A PLAYER

This illustrious journey started about 15 years ago when Rahul, who traces his roots to Indore, made his debut in Ranji Trophy for Karnataka with an 80+ score showing the sign of the things to come. I have been following his career since his dream debut at Lords. He made his debut alongside Sourav Ganguly who stole the show at that time with his triple figure show even though Rahul missed the century just by 5 runs. Nevertheless signs were auspicious for him to succeed as a Test batsman. He came across as a technically correct batsman with strong defense coupled with unwavering concentration. Shortly he debuted as a one day batsman also. But his game at that time was too slow for one day format as by that time Jayasuriya has changed the face of international limited overs cricket.

Dravid was dropped as a batsman from the one day team owing to his slowness as batsman, he was declared unfit for one day cricket. That is the point where most of the batsman are differentiated as ordinary or great; ordinary batsman accept it as a fate and are happier with there guaranteed place in test team and great players rise to the occasion by replying in a inimitable fashion.

Rahul Dravid chose to be a great player. He made his comeback in the series in New Zealand and replied his critics with a century scoring 123 off 123 balls. He is only one of the few players ever who play spin and pace equally well. Whether it is Indian dustbowls or the Cattle fields of New Zealand he has scored everywhere in equal measures. Lately, he has blossomed into a classical stroke player who can score at a fast clip. His 60-ball-92 in the ODI series vs. England this summer stands testimony to the strides he has made over a period of time.

Summary of some of his feats:

1. Dravid is the only player from India to have scored 5 double hundreds in test cricket.
2. Dravid has scored two hundreds in each innings of a test match twice.
3. He had played 94 consecutive test matches after his debut, without missing even a single test match, which is a record, which is a tribute to the fitness levels he has maintained over a period of time.
4. He has scored hundreds in 5 consecutive test matches.
5. He was crowned ICC Player of the year 2004.
6. Rahul is one of only 3 Indian batsmen to have scored 9,000 runs in test cricket (the other two being Sachin Tendulkar & Sunil Gavaskar).
7. Rahul Dravid’s test batting average is highest among all the Indian batsmen ever.
8. Rahul Dravid averages more in test cricket away than at home.

Record as a batsman:

Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100’s 50’s

Tests 112 191 23 9492 270 56.50 24 48

ODIs 327 303 40 10534 153 40.05 12 81

These are feats which raise the bar and inspire the generations to come. He never came across as a gifted player like Sachin Tendulkar or Sourav Ganguly. All his shots, whether the typical square cut or the leg side drives through mid on even the inside out lofted drive over mid off, all were result of the hard work put in the nets. Never to sit on his laurels and demand place on the basis of past feats, only one player in Indian team who has commanded his place on current form in last ten years has been Rahul Dravid. Rahul has been such a perfectionist of the game that after every dismissal he can be seen checking his shot to find out the error he made instead of throwing is head back is a disgusting manner.

Dravid has always put his best foot forward for the betterment of Indian cricket whether it was for taking the responsibility of wicketkeeper for providing right balance to the team. He could have easily said no, for he was an established player by then and the vice-captain of the team. He has even batted at No. 7 for the team for good period of four years when, while batting at his customary No. 3 position, he could have scored plenty of centuries and runs to get his name inked in the annals of crickets as the greatest batsman to have walked on to the cricket field. For last 7-8 years Indian teams success in test cricket has been invariably linked to the success of Rahul Dravid with bat. Whether it is Kolkata, Headingley, Leeds, Adelaide, Rawalpindi, Port-of-Spain, Christchurch… one common factor in all the success is Rahul Dravid. We have had great batsman like Gavaskar, Azharuddin, Tendulkar but it can be said with authority that no batsman has brought in so much success for the Indian team as Rahul Dravid.

RAHUL DRAVID – A CAPTAIN

Being a keen student of the game it was inevitable that he will get the reigns of the team one day. That opportunity came when after some successful years under Sourav Ganguly team lost its way in 2004 resulting in continuous losses. Dravid took over the reigns of Team India in one of the most turbulent times to have come in Indian cricket. He guided the team very well in the initial phase with series wins against Sri Lanka & England.

Then under him the team drew the one day series against South Africa. Without going too much into statistics, Rahul Dravid achieved an away win against West Indies in the test series after 35 years on the Caribbean soil. High point came in his captaincy when India beat Pakistan 4-1 in Pakistan in ODI’s and when recently India won the test series against England on English soil.

India missed the golden opportunity in South Africa when India had South Africa on the mat for most part of the series except for last day which proved decisive. Nonetheless India won it’s first ever test match on African soil. Even when India won test series under Sourav Ganguly in Pakistan then in the Multan Test the team was lead by Rahul Dravid as Sourav Ganguly was not available then. Win in Multan test was the first by India on Pakistan soil. Dravid’s captaincy drew special praise even from the Pakistani counterpart Inzamam-ul-Haq also.

More than these things what is of importance is that Dravid has seen the team through the turbulent time with aplomb. When Dravid was anointed as captain, with it he got a bagful of issues. Along with building a team & vociferous Greg Chappell, he got two ex-captains who were in the running for captainship always. The issue of Sourav Ganguly’s selection has haunted the team almost throughout his tenure. That created a rift in the team, with some players making there loyalties very clear, it was a big ask for Dravid but again he showed the nerves of steel and got the team back on track. It was a really difficult task to get the team back on track after the World Cup debacle, Dravid performed even accomplished this feat motivating the team and leading them to comprehensive series win against the Bangladesh and then a highly successful English tour. Except the World Cup, where more than his captaincy other factors were responsible for the team’s early exit, there are not many blemishes on the captaincy of Rahul Dravid. On various instances he has shown the signs of a shrewd cricketing brain like in Mumbai test while defending 104 against Australia he opted to bowl Harbhajan Singh & Murali Kartik first instead of Anil Kumble and Australia were bundled out for a score of 93!! (A rare incident in international cricket).

Now as he decided to move over by resigning as captain stating the reason (stated through Sharad Pawar) that in all probability he will not able to continue till next World Cup so for the larger good of himself and team he has decided to relinquish the captaincy for some younger player to take over and look towards the future. It is really a rare incident that any captain has resigned as captain after having such a successful foreign tour. Although we know there is much more to it than a mere dip in batting form. Another case of impeccable timing by Rahul Dravid.

Rahul Dravid is great example of discipline, dedication and determination. His cricketing feats are great proof of that. He is not most gifted cricketer that’s why he puts forward great example for us to learn. He shows us how to maximize your potential, because nothing good comes easy in life. Neither had it come for him. Nor will it for us. His graph as a player teaches us that success is one thing and retaining it is other. With his well cultured admirable behavior, far from on/off the field controversy, he is an idol for any person who wants to be successful, for that matter in any field of career.

I would like to end here with a saying that which Rahul Dravid has exemplified:

Patience, Persistence and Practice leads to PERFECTION

The journey continues.

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