Visiting The Man Behind The Wall - A Tribute To Rahul Dravid

June 1996.

We are in Her Majesty¡¯s England.

An important Test is taking place at Lord¡¯s Cricket ground.

It is, the home of cricket.

England lifted by Hussain, Thorpe, and Jack Russell¡¯s commitment have helped themselves to a solid 344.

India have been at the field, toiling for almost a day and a half.

Finally, they come out to bat and shortly after, are left struggling at 59-2. Saurav Ganguly, a young face in the side soaks up the pressure whilst Tendulkar, gives glimpse of familiar class albeit departing after a few fluent strikes.

The scoreboard looks modest at 4-154 as Azhar departs, and another 48 runs later, Jadeja follows suit.

With half the team down and only Saurav looking set, another youngster arrives at the crease. He is only 23. By the time he departs, India, who were 5 for 202 when he joined his fellow youngster, are 9 down.

But have been lifted to 419.

In so doing, an end of the wicket has been safeguarded, a total of 267 balls have been played, 6 watchful boundaries have been struck, the off side has been breached, the leg-side has been scored of, and a knock of 95 has been constructed off 363 minutes spent in the middle.

Indian cricket has got a new name in the ranks. Bowlers have found a nadir.

Rahul Sharad Dravid has played one of the finest Test knocks in his very first go at Lord¡¯s.

Cut to March 9, 2012. 16 years have gone by since the glorious Lord¡¯s debut.

We are in Bangalore. It¡¯s an easy-going day in the IT city but a ripple of despair strikes some parts of it, the cricket loving ones, you could say.

An honest voice- partly sad, partly still, but still, composed, as only it could be, takes to the mic.

An elaborate speech has been said. It ends with the following, two lines that draw an ocean of applause from a room filled with awe-struck media professionals, sports writers, anchors and cricket buffs:

¡°Finally, I would like to thank the Indian cricket fan, both here and across the world. The game is lucky to have you, and it¡¯s been a privilege to play before you. To represent India, and thus, to represent you has been a privilege and one that I¡¯ve taken very seriously.

I¡¯ve failed at times, but I¡¯ve never stopped trying; this is why I leave with sadness, but also with pride.¡±

Rahul Dravid has just announced his retirement.

There are numb eyes but the traffic of the city hasn¡¯t come to a standstill. Most news channels show glimpses of what seemed, a typically studious Dravid inning, where he¡¯s carefully guarded his emotions and yet been candid about them.

The man who batted like a monk has left the sport composed.

And you are compelled to say, for a journey that lasted 16 long years, manifested in 13228 Test runs, with 36 centuries, multiple double-hundreds, sweat, toil, and rigor: Well left Rahul!

As Rahul Dravid - batsman par excellence, confidence-killer of bowlers, executor of the perfect front-foot defence and a saver of India on one occasion too many, turns 46 one ought to ask something.

Has Dravid really retired?

If you happen to have visited the many garlands of respect that one of Indian cricket¡¯s unsung heroes has come to inspire, then this line by an anonymous fan- When the doors of the temple are closed, then even the God is behind the Wall- would suggest that Dravid hasn¡¯t really retired.

How could he? Aren¡¯t our idols, regardless of their activeness in their field forever alive?

In Dravid¡¯s case, a man responsible for collecting nearly 25000 runs, including almost 10,000 plus in ODIs, the theory gets real.

After all, in barely a few months into retirement he¡¯d return to wield the bat, that too in a format where his skills didn¡¯t supposedly lie.

If you recollect the 2012 IPL season, as captain, Dravid not only opened, not a position you¡¯d familiarize with him, but collected 462 runs and struck 2 fifties.

In a format he was criticized for having even attempted to bat on, it wasn¡¯t bad for a technically sound batsman scoring at a strike rate of 112 and manage 2 fifties.

The next year, as a 40-year-old, Dravid would score 471 runs and collect 4 fifties. In so doing, he¡¯d lead the Royals well into the twilight of the tournament and helped shape talents- Praveen Tambe, Karun Nair, Sanju Samson, among others- who ¡®owe it¡¯ to India¡¯s Mr. Dependable.

But the man who¡¯d be invited to lecture at the venerable Bradman oration, a speech highly regarded even by Gideon Haigh, would find his second wind as being a mentor to India¡¯s next generation of cricketers.

And it is this second innings of Dravid that moves one toward appreciating the Mr. Dependable in him, a departure of sorts from having been a technically virtuous Wall renowned for watertight defense and for bailing India out in tough situations.

When he could¡¯ve easily taken the job of being the next coach of the national cricket team, Dravid found meaning in coaching the Under-19 boys, a league of special talents, comprising of Prithvi Shaw- by now you know him already-, Shubhman Gill and others.

You get this sense about Dravid that while can afford the trappings of luxury, he¡¯d rather go sedate and simple. Little wonder then, when asked what he¡¯d look most forward to in his retirement, the mild-mannered man said, ¡®dropping Samit and Anvay to school.¡¯

But what is unique about Dravid, a man who wishes to be treated as a person instead of a personality is just whom all has he lent his support to when he could¡¯ve sat content enjoying perks of a quaint retirement.

Kevin Pietersen wrote to Dravid when he was to have approached a tough sub-continental series to better his game against spin. Dravid duly wrote back and guided him when he could have not. Even when Rahul stood as the Rock of Gibraltar during arguably India¡¯s saddest capitulation in England, 2011, wherein he scored a famous Lord¡¯s hundred, striking 3 hundreds overall, including an unbeaten 146, he politely declined Michal Holding¡¯s nickname for him: Buffalo Soldier.

Dravid spent a few sessions with the Scottish team and lifted their morale when he could¡¯ve minded his own business.

AFP

In the twilight of his career, during one of his last series¡¯ at home, against Australia, in 2011-12, Dravid batted alongside Pujara, briefly in a memorable Test win at Bangalore.

This was to be a unique spectacle in the sense that, 8 years back in time, two concrete fortifications- one that had already stood the test of time- and the other- that as one can see, is soldiering for his country- battled for India.

So if one were to understand the significance of Pujara today- 3 Test hundreds within the last 30 days- then one would find there¡¯s rests a protector of India¡¯s fortunes in a batsman who prides himself by putting his country over him.

And that is when those appreciative memes that tirelessly compare Dravid with The Dark Knight spring to mind, for often when the attention rests with the mesmerizing Virat Kohli, one smiles silently noticing Pujara is batting at the other end, and tiring bowlers out even when the world¡¯s best bat departs.

AFP

And this quiet surety about his batting and genuine love for batting for long hours escalates Pujara to a pedestal where not only does one see Dravid in him but also expects therefore, a world out of him, in the five-day game.

And knowing Pujara, a throwback to the last classic Test batsman, one who toiled against Donald, slowed down Lee, battled Vaas, Bond and Murali, neither gave up during the lows of being slow in ODIs nor punched above his weight despite attaining Test greatness, that one wishes to remember India¡¯s greatest number 3 again, and again.

May that always be the case! Happy 46th Sir!