The Story of a Hero

Cricket is undoubtedly a religion if not more in India. The game’s influence on the common man is so much so that cricketers are treated as demi-gods, literally worshiped here. Even an uneducated auto driver is well updated about the recent commonwealth series and it’s happenings. People relate to cricket so much so that, most of them create an identity for themselves through cricket. Sachin’s Bday and Sehwag’s 200 is celebrated in probably better ways compared to a diwali or holi! Such is our culture, such is the respect we have for our players here.

In a land that has seen a lot many legends thrive and succeed, cricket has been one sport that has kept India well known at the global scene. There have been legends in the past, who are respected and honored throughout the nation; heroes, who have brought glory to our nation. The hero I am talking about is not someone who has grabbed all the records on earth and is deservedly on the top, neither am I talking about someone who captained a team and won the world cup single-handedly or in that case, a bowler who is often listed in the legendary bowler’s list.

"For me there's only one Dravid. I will miss him in the dressing room & on the field.". These were Sachin ’s words on hearing about his retirement. The hero I am talking about is Rahul Dravid, the unsung champion of Indian Cricket. With all his records, in the bag-pack and with the drive in him to face the world’s best bowling attack , in the most enduring of situations, he simply ceases to surprise any cricket lover. Two decades of relentless service to our nation. But for what he has done to Indian cricket, has he deserved the respect he has to? I'm not very sure!

Reasons? Yes quite obviously, when there is a batsman along with you, who has broken all possible records and has been playing the sport for more than 50% of his life, you are shadowed. Quality is something which can't be compared between greats. I am not comparing them. Start penning down the top quality batsmen; on an average, both of them will figure in the top 10 across the world. Such is their eminence. Sachin and Dravid are artistes at the same stage, but the former has performed a little more than the latter, in terms of technique and impact. Both of them are individuals who inspire many, owing to their persona. This article struck a chord with my thoughts http://www.firstpost.com/ideas/the-karna-syndrome-and-rahul-dravid-as-the-hero-60411.html/2 . Comparing him with Karna while casting Sachin as Arjuna would be fair, to a certain extent. Both warriors, one who went on to seek glories and become famous, the other, equally talented, shadowed by his counterpart.

Any budding batsman from my generation would want to become a Sachin or a Dravid,when he grew up. Both of them have saved matches and restored the glory we've had in cricket. These 2 along with Kumble and Ganguly to an extent were the forerunners of a golden period we've had. When this team entered a test arena, the opponents were taken aback by the magnanimity of these players and their achievements.

Now, Dravid undoubtedly has been labeled a legend, when it comes to test cricket. I hope the reader is aware of what he has done for our nation. If not, let me try to summarize why his achievements have been considered legendary!

• Dravid is the second only next to Sachin Tendulkar across the globe to score more than 13,000 test runs, with a consistent average of 53, and a massive number of 36 centuries
• He has been involved in the most century partnerships in Test history
• He was the 1st player to score a century against every Test playing nation away from home
• He is currently 2nd among batsmen who have scored most away runs in Tests . Only Sachin Tendulkar has scored more away Test runs.
• Interestingly Dravid has faced highest number of deliveries in test cricket, more than Allan Border's previous record of 27002 deliveries
• He has scored nearly 23% of the total runs put up by India (with a batting average of 102.84) in the 21 Test matches won under Ganguly's captaincy. This is the highest percentage contribution by any batsman in Test cricket history in matches won under a single captain where the captain has won more than 20 Tests.

Dravid's comeback with his 32nd test century

What has made Dravid a top class test player is his sound technical ability coupled with his never-give-up attitude. His technical class is beyond description . The way he executes his shots and the way he reads and approaches a game,should necessarily be used as references for the next generation. It is not that Dravid was blessed with these skills, it came with sheer hardwork and commitment. He is a born fighter that is what makes him special in test cricket.

I must say that, his test contributions are acknowledged to a large extent. It is ODIs that has caused problems for Dravid, something that always denied Dravid, from being epitomized to greatness. Greatness is sometimes bestowed arbitrarily in Cricket. It is a concept that could have been forged with Rahul Dravid in mind. Well I strongly feel that ODIs are only derivatives of test cricket. T20s are again a derivative of ODIs. Such derived forms are more of an entertainment than a sport. Any batsman who would want a spot in the team , would want to have a test cap. A test , literally tests the entire skill sets a batsman should possess. Subject to strategic field setups, and more variability and creativity from the bowler, a test is when , a batsman is tested to the extreme. You would always want to see Warne, Murali and Kumble, bowling in tests rather than ODIs. Such is the intensity for test matches. This is often forgotten. Cricket of late, is changing so much so that, it has started becoming a business. How on earth do we have a celebrity cricket league with fatso, uncles playing (rather spoiling) the sport, and god, the hype media gives them. Crazy it is! Well yes entertainment is a business and I accept, I would also want to see Dhoni, smashing a few sixes out of the stadium in the last few overs of a ODI but again ,sport is never an entertainment, it’s essence is realized when it is played in its original way. Cricket is changing, but for the better? I would say no!

Having said this, it is not that Dravid has done bad in ODIs. He has never claimed to be a natural ODI match winner, he is very defensive in nature, very reliable in low run rate chases and at facing the new ball under pressure. These are a few facts that need to be noted:

• Dravid is the 8^th highest run getter with more than 10,000 ODI runs at an average of 40
• He was involved in the highest partnership in the history of ODI cricket with a 331 run partnership along with Sachin vs NZ in 1999–2000
• He was the leading run scorer in the 1999 WC with 461 runs.
• Has the 2nd highest score (145) by a wicketkeeper in a World Cup behind AC Gilchrist(149)
• He has the 3rd Highest number of fifties, after Sachin and Kallis
• He has the second fastest 50 by an Indian
• He is one of two Indians to be the top scorer in a World Cup (the other is Sachin Tendulkar). He amassed 461 runs in the 1999 World Cup, the first World Cup he played.

Dravid at 1999 WC.

Random accusations by some people that , he is a “waste”(wtf?) in ODIs should be treated as ignorance and should be excused(a diplomatic way of saying, screw you)! On top of all this, history shall declare Rahul Dravid as an ODI player, who’d retired after India secured a world cup, not having figured in the WC winning team. I personally felt it to be unfair, leaving out him. Kohli’s and Raina’s were performing better prior to the WC, but he deserved a spot definitely, given his experience and the confidence he would bring into the dressing room! I am not trying to portray him as a great ODI player, but, just because he can't play like a Sehwag or Dhoni, he should n't be denied the respect he clearly deserves. Given his style of play, he has adapted when the country needed him.

Oh talking about adapting, none should forget that Dravid has even gone to the extent of keeping stumps when the situation demanded and done a good job at that. For me, what keeps him unique, is the way he rises to situations and offers his hands as a team player. From opening the batting line-up, to batting down the order to wicket keeping , to captaining our team , he has done what he could have done, when the team needed someone. He has also led our team, and the continuous 15 ODI match chase win, stands testimony to his leadership qualities, both contributing and leading the middle order to all these chases.

Whenever, we as children , had a long target to face in a match, I remember all of us trying to emulate his gameplan and imitate his shots. Always insisting on hard work, practice, teamwork and determination ,he has been a continuous source of inspiration for youngsters. He has been shadowed, by other legends, but every interview he has had, every press meet he has had, his farewell speech for instance, he has always chosen to be humble . Never ever complaining, never ever cribbing, always taking up responsibilities and not even in the slightest of interest, seeking for fame or personal glory, he always gave credit to the team and his partners in a game! It would be very difficult to find a team player like him; such a committed and dedicated player,quite obviously turning him into an iconic hero!

I was searching for what other cricketers had to say about our nation pride. This is what I’d stumbled upon
Matthew Hayden:
"All this going around is not aggression. If you want to see aggression on cricket field, look into Rahul Dravid’s eyes".
Brian Lara :
"If I have to put anyone to bat for my life, it’ll be Kallis or Dravid".
Navjot Singh Sidhu:
"Rahul Dravid is a player who would walk on broken glass if his team asks him to"Glen McGrath
”If there was one Indian player who would get an automatic entry into an Australian team filled with stars, it would be Rahul Dravid.”
Sachin(God apparently)
"Dravid is not only a great cricketer but also an ambassador of the game, a role model and a gentleman. Runs apart he is a cricketer who should be emulated by the youngsters,"

Good things come to an end, they say . It is an era coming to a halt. An era that had witnessed classical batting at it’ best. Retirement was on the cards, but so soon, was never expected. It's his choice at the end of the day, and whatever you do, the whole nation's respect and support will always be there for you. This was Dravid’ message to all his fans. “Finally I would like to thank the Indian cricket fan, both here and across the world. The game is lucky to have you and I have been lucky to play before you. To represent India, and thus to represent you, has been a privilege and one which I have always taken seriously. My approach to cricket has been reasonably simple: it was about giving everything to the team, it was about playing with dignity and it was about upholding the spirit of the game. I hope I have done some of that. I have failed at times, but I have never stopped trying. It is why I leave with sadness but also with pride” . It simply doesn’t take too much to like him.

Let me conclude by thanking this legend for his contributions to the team, for teaching us what a sportsman had to be . All of us will continue to admire you for your technical expertise and your fight-till-you-die attitude. The nation might not engrave your name along with Sachin when both of you retire, but you shall be in every one of our hearts, as Mr.Dependable and as an inspiring gentleman, a true ambassador of Indian cricket.The WALL of Indian Cricket. TAKE A BOW!!!!

P.S . The stats used in the article are directly from Wiki and cricinfo and it's for people who are not aware of his contributions and the rest who are ignorant.
The rest of it and the article as such is my humble way of saying, I have been a fan of yours' since childhood and just like me, I’m sure there are many, sharing the same sentiment, We will definitely MISS you!

Seniors are wonderful people!

This is something which I wrote for the Godav Blog .

“It’s almost over man. Godav Chapter is soon, in your life coming to an end..!” It hurts big time when random juniors tell us this but, it quite is the blatant truth. In retrospect, mixed emotions are felt when we say that these ‘were the best days of our life’. The agony of leaving this place, and the happiness of having lived a life here. It’s a sem more here, but most of us ‘seniors’ are already “senti” leaving this place!

Seniors. Woah!, the name reminds me of all those awesome people we had in or hostel; each of them who taught us a lot of things. To learn is to observe and surely we have all done that. It is quite a trend at IITs for juniors to emulate what seniors have done here and to follow their footsteps. All of us learn a lot from our seniors here. After thinking over a bit on what would be, an apt topic to write on; I thought this article would make sense if it could remind all of us, how important a role ,our seniors have played in our lives.

So once upon a time there was this guy. He stepped into a 4 floored green coloured building with a beautiful garden on the front with Godavari engraved on a piece of rock. Like any other freshie, he had no clue of what was in store there. Scared he was, shy he was, a bit nervous he was. A lot happened in his mind. Random thoughts about home , parents and siblings. Strange people, having conversations with ‘raas’ and ‘daas’. The pressure of acads looming dark over him. And on top of all this, there were seniors.

We(our batch) were, like any freshie batch, shit scared of them , to start off. Our very first roll call, and I remember one senior coming in and saying: “Rajasthan waale sab get up!..aah you..come to room no: XYZ”. Back then, we sincerely hoped other states never had such an issue. But that was our first impression, which we realized was wrong after actually knowing them better. There are a lot of incidents that each one of us could share in our hostel days, wherein our seniors have taught us lessons. Let me enlist a few similar incidents.

While during the frequent quadi matches, me and a couple of first years were waiting outside the ground depserately awaiting our turn. In general freshies do not get a start in the first 10 in the quadi. Suddenly there is this senior(Let us call him X) who happens to be one of the best players of our hostel, slowly moving out and asking one of us to replace him. He comes out and tells us very silently with a pat on our back: “Guys I’m here only for a few more months and it’s your hostel from now on. You guys need to keep up the spirit and keep playing”. This gesture by him was genuine and he waited till all of us got a chance.

Then there was this senior (let us call him Y) who I remember kept alternating from one Schroeter match to another simply because he was good at all sports on earth. I still remember him coming to our footer match in our first sem, from a water polo match, fully cramped. For a second he was down and then he was up with a bottle of cramp spray, spread all over his body . “This is my last Ganga match and I need to play”. Both these incidents, in my first sem taught us what it meant to be a Godavite, and to be passionate and dedicated to what one was committed to.

I still remember those sports grooming sessions that we used to have in our freshie sem. Most of us would attest to the fact that, those fundaes from seniors actually laid our foundation in whatever we have done today. I can vaguely recollect those gyaan sessions when our seniors gave away footballing fundas, ranging from, passing the football around, to giving through balls, that would win goals. We sure had picked up a lot during those days. I am definitely sure, the same was with TechSoc and LitSoc. We truly had seniors who used to tell us like brothers, what they knew, so that we grew better, ultimately for a better Godav.

Then there was this very famous wing, the FIRST WING of Godav, which surely has inspired many juniors to follow. The wing taught us what it meant to be together, despite language, state, branch or whatever on earth. One of my wingies even went to the extent of saying : “Oye I was XYZ core daa and so was LMN the first wing senior , in our first year. I still cant believe it man!”

In short seniors at Godav have inspired us .They have taught us, guided us and essentially made things easy for us. Today we are seniors and sooner or later , all you juniors will be in our shoes. Have we inspired you, influenced you, motivated you? We hope yes! It was simply then, giving back the feeling we’d got from our seniors. I was talking a little before, about all the pain and pressure in the first sem. Most of it were sorted out after having these conversations with these people. From internship gyaan, to useful fundaes and life advices, they have influenced us in major ways and most importantly have taught us what life at Godav was.

A lot has changed in a span of 5 years here at Godav. We have a new block built up, we have a better common room today , we have lost our volley court. But even amidst all these changes, it’s quite amazing to see that there is still the same spirit of Godav within its inmates living on. It’s quite nice to find the same senior-junior bonding that was there in my first year exist even today. We sincerely hope it continues .

Well now, a lot of things go through my mind, the festival matches, wing sports, QoS, Inter-Hostel matches, Schroeter practice sessions, LitSoc. All of them suddenly pass through my mind in a jiffy. Good things come to an end they say. I hope this end comes slow.