Unsung Hero of Indian Cricket

Our cricketers are really lucky. No, not because of all the moolah they rake in. Not because of the demi-god status most of them enjoy. Not even because of the opportunity they have taken for granted to represent the country on the sports field. They are lucky because the Anna movement has deflected public attention and anger from the drubbing they received in cricket, at the hands of a resurgent English side. Considering the huge margins of defeat, this must certainly rank as one of our worst overseas defeats in cricket. What makes it worse is that it was handed out to an outfit that was ranked the World No.1 in Test cricket for the last 20 or so months.

Through all the din of subdued criticism somewhat immobilized by the shock of defeat, very few seem to have noticed the Wall of Indian Cricket, who alone stood tall throughout this series. To have equalled and then surpassed the legendary Sunil Gavaskar’s tally of Test tons during the England series was no mean achievement. Dravid already stood as the second-highest run-getter in Test cricket behind only Sachin Tendulkar. Somehow, I can’t help thinking, though, that the man has never got his due. He has, undoubtedly, been the unsung hero of Indian cricket.

Admittedly, he lacked the natural ability of a Sachin or the flair of a Saurav. He even lacked the charisma of a Dhoni as captain. However, in his own quiet sort of way, the man has served Indian cricket with a rare distinction, be it as a batsman or a wicket-keeper or a slip fielder. Whenever the chips have been down Dravid is the man the team management has invariably turned to for the rescue act, and he has seldom disappointed. Not for nothing did he earn the sobriquet, The Wall. His solid defence, his ability to play a long innings and his sense of focus became the pivot around which many a team score was put together any number of times.

The latest, and perhaps, one of the best instances of his ever-abiding commitment to his team was evident in the last Test match of the series versus England. Dravid not only carried his bat through the first innings when he scored his 35th Test ton, but also came out to open the innings again when India were forced to follow on. That has been the spirit with which the man has played his cricket. What makes his achievements truly remarkable is his gentlemanly behaviour on and off the field. His modesty and humility have earned him many friends and admirers even among his rivals.

Despite all these obvious qualities of head and heart that made him the cricketer he has been for India, his achievements have hardly been acknowledged in our Tendulkar-obsessed country, whose shadow he has had to play under. Left out of the ODI and T20 sides a few seasons ago, without even so much as having been offered an explanation by the selectors, Dravid went on to do reasonably well in the IPL although his captaincy came in for some criticism. Personally, I did not find it at all surprising that Dravid should have announced his retirement plans in England from ODIs and T20 cricket when the selectors suddenly rediscovered the virtue of including him in the ODI squad to play versus England.

It was his way of telling the selectors, “I'm not a use-and-throw commodity…” And yet, the manner in which Rahul Dravid did that was so typical – it was all done in such a dignified manner. He reluctantly consented to play in the ODIs versus England, but said that would be it. No more. A thorough gentleman, Rahul Dravid, must surely rank as one of the unsung heroes of Indian cricket.