When the God's fail to answer your prayers, when the wristy operators loose their edge that is when the gates open to, "The Wall". A Wall that accepted everything but crumbling down under pressure. "The Wall" would never fall, it must have faded of but only to become a Heritage for the World to cherish.
When he walked out padded in the middle to take his guard everything was so perfect about him that, perfection would not stand a chance. The way he walked, his flair on the way to the crease, his stance while taking his guard, and ready to face the bowler head on was nonpareil to say the least.
If something that was different about him was his unwillingness to go down without a fight. He would not look the opponent, eye-to-eye or might not abuse back when provoked, he would duck in at hard hitting deliveries withstanding anything and everything but cowardly surrender.
I am tempted to use these lines again and again, for this man whose sheer presence in the middle leaves the opponents gazing at defeat. Rahul Dravid with stood the bore and brunt’s, sledging of the opposition, bitter winds of England’s summer, hotness of the Australian cold, and of course the burden of expectations from his team, and his fans.
He was of-course a part of the Indian Cricket Team which was led by numerous players and when he was given the responsibility to lead the team he didn't shy away. After a disastrous tour he gave up his captaincy not that it was asked for. He did it keeping in the mind the best interest of the team.
He did almost everything the was thrown at him. He never shy-ed away from responsibilities but from the lens. He played as per the needs of the team. He simply filled the shoes when the team required, a Captain he took it up, Wicket-keeper, Opener, Anchor, finisher, Slips, Guide and he did all this for no extra cost.
England has always been his favorite hunting ground for obvious reasons. The Brits love him like he is one of them. The innings of Leeds in 2002 when he played out of his skin and gave one of his finest performances as a batsmen, the heroics of 1999 World Cup, the Test series win in 2007 after 21 years and would not fail to mention those three outstanding centuries that he scored the last summer reminding us of what Test Cricket is.
No matter where he played, against whom he played the, World always stood up to give him a standing ovation to respect the man who has played 31258 deliveries, scored 13,288 runs with an average of 52.31, 210 Test match catches (highest in the history of the game), 36 classic centuries.
This man was a true legend of the game. He was one of the best things to happen to the sport and one of the best thing India could afford. Will miss you Rahul Sharad Dravid. Wish and hope i could lay my hands off a CD that has converted your innings into a visual treat :)
Would sign off with some great quotes from the Greats of the game.
Harsha Bhogle: I expected nothing less from a man it has been my privilege to watch and to know for 16 years.
John Wright: “I owe a lot to Rahul. He helped me a great deal during my tenure as coach of India (2000 to 2005). I worked with him at Kent as well as in India where he was the backbone of our batting, particularly overseas. We had a number of great players, but a lot of victories were built around his contributions.”
Ian Chappel: "At a time when money rules the game and clouds decision making process, Rahul Dravid gave the impression that integrity was more important than riches. He always played and captained with pride and dignity. In addition, he was one of the fairest and most respected competitors in the game.”
Shane Watson: "I've been very lucky to have a really good association with Rahul. He's probably the nicest guy - no, he is the nicest guy - that I've met in cricket. He's a phenomenal man. He loves the game with so much passion, it's in his blood and in his heart. He is certainly going to be sorely missed by the Indian public and the cricket loving public as well,"
Brian Lara - If I have to name anyone to bat for my life, it’ll be Jacques Kallis or Rahul Dravid.
Allan Border: It does not get better than what Rahul Dravid did in this Test (the 2003 Test at Adelaide where he scored 233 and 72*). His batting was outstanding. Everyone has already exhausted superlatives so I would not bother myself with any additional praise but you could be sure my admiration for him has grown tremendously.
Brett Lee - If you can't get along with Dravid, you are struggling in life.
Matthew Hayden: All this going around is not aggression; if you want to see aggression on cricket field, look into Rahul Dravid’s eyes.
Sourav Ganguly: He's a champion at everything. I really admire him. I am very impressed with the way he approaches life.
Sachin Tendulkar: He (Dravid) is a perfect role model for youngsters. He has set a great example for all of us to follow. We are all trying to follow that path.
Sunil Gavaskar: He brings serenity to the crease that is so good for the nerves in the dressing room. He also helps ease the tension away by the way he plays. He then proceeds to make the fastest of bowlers look easy to bat against. His economy of movement and the preciseness of his footwork gets him into position quickly, and so, the bowlers look quite clueless. The fastest of deliveries is played as if it's done every day and with minimum fuss.
Ravi Shastri: There are only four batsmen who are great to me Sunny, Vishwanath, Sachin and now Rahul.
Image Courtesy: © AFP
Wish i could write about you Rahul..... But the sport will miss a real good character and a Gentleman. Cricket will miss its favorite son :) All the best and do well.
When he walked out padded in the middle to take his guard everything was so perfect about him that, perfection would not stand a chance. The way he walked, his flair on the way to the crease, his stance while taking his guard, and ready to face the bowler head on was nonpareil to say the least.
If something that was different about him was his unwillingness to go down without a fight. He would not look the opponent, eye-to-eye or might not abuse back when provoked, he would duck in at hard hitting deliveries withstanding anything and everything but cowardly surrender.
I am tempted to use these lines again and again, for this man whose sheer presence in the middle leaves the opponents gazing at defeat. Rahul Dravid with stood the bore and brunt’s, sledging of the opposition, bitter winds of England’s summer, hotness of the Australian cold, and of course the burden of expectations from his team, and his fans.
He was of-course a part of the Indian Cricket Team which was led by numerous players and when he was given the responsibility to lead the team he didn't shy away. After a disastrous tour he gave up his captaincy not that it was asked for. He did it keeping in the mind the best interest of the team.
He did almost everything the was thrown at him. He never shy-ed away from responsibilities but from the lens. He played as per the needs of the team. He simply filled the shoes when the team required, a Captain he took it up, Wicket-keeper, Opener, Anchor, finisher, Slips, Guide and he did all this for no extra cost.
England has always been his favorite hunting ground for obvious reasons. The Brits love him like he is one of them. The innings of Leeds in 2002 when he played out of his skin and gave one of his finest performances as a batsmen, the heroics of 1999 World Cup, the Test series win in 2007 after 21 years and would not fail to mention those three outstanding centuries that he scored the last summer reminding us of what Test Cricket is.
No matter where he played, against whom he played the, World always stood up to give him a standing ovation to respect the man who has played 31258 deliveries, scored 13,288 runs with an average of 52.31, 210 Test match catches (highest in the history of the game), 36 classic centuries.
This man was a true legend of the game. He was one of the best things to happen to the sport and one of the best thing India could afford. Will miss you Rahul Sharad Dravid. Wish and hope i could lay my hands off a CD that has converted your innings into a visual treat :)
Would sign off with some great quotes from the Greats of the game.
Harsha Bhogle: I expected nothing less from a man it has been my privilege to watch and to know for 16 years.
John Wright: “I owe a lot to Rahul. He helped me a great deal during my tenure as coach of India (2000 to 2005). I worked with him at Kent as well as in India where he was the backbone of our batting, particularly overseas. We had a number of great players, but a lot of victories were built around his contributions.”
Ian Chappel: "At a time when money rules the game and clouds decision making process, Rahul Dravid gave the impression that integrity was more important than riches. He always played and captained with pride and dignity. In addition, he was one of the fairest and most respected competitors in the game.”
Shane Watson: "I've been very lucky to have a really good association with Rahul. He's probably the nicest guy - no, he is the nicest guy - that I've met in cricket. He's a phenomenal man. He loves the game with so much passion, it's in his blood and in his heart. He is certainly going to be sorely missed by the Indian public and the cricket loving public as well,"
Brian Lara - If I have to name anyone to bat for my life, it’ll be Jacques Kallis or Rahul Dravid.
Allan Border: It does not get better than what Rahul Dravid did in this Test (the 2003 Test at Adelaide where he scored 233 and 72*). His batting was outstanding. Everyone has already exhausted superlatives so I would not bother myself with any additional praise but you could be sure my admiration for him has grown tremendously.
Brett Lee - If you can't get along with Dravid, you are struggling in life.
Matthew Hayden: All this going around is not aggression; if you want to see aggression on cricket field, look into Rahul Dravid’s eyes.
Sourav Ganguly: He's a champion at everything. I really admire him. I am very impressed with the way he approaches life.
Sachin Tendulkar: He (Dravid) is a perfect role model for youngsters. He has set a great example for all of us to follow. We are all trying to follow that path.
Sunil Gavaskar: He brings serenity to the crease that is so good for the nerves in the dressing room. He also helps ease the tension away by the way he plays. He then proceeds to make the fastest of bowlers look easy to bat against. His economy of movement and the preciseness of his footwork gets him into position quickly, and so, the bowlers look quite clueless. The fastest of deliveries is played as if it's done every day and with minimum fuss.
Ravi Shastri: There are only four batsmen who are great to me Sunny, Vishwanath, Sachin and now Rahul.
Image Courtesy: © AFP
