Friday, September 21, 2007

Dravid, back to doing what he does best!



Rahul Dravid didn't impress me so much when he had initially arrived...
Although technically gifted and a stylish stroke-maker that he was, he didn't score his runs fast enough for me to feel entertained while watching him!

BUT over a period of time, since the time he has 'transformed' into a one day player...since he started being a solid force against the Aussies... a guy dedicated to the team cause... doing whatever it takes in the best interest of the team (keep wickets, go bat at any position the captain wants you to... stay for as long as it takes on the screeze...)...I've really found it hard not to admire him.
He has GROWN INTO A CHAMPION, mostly due to his hard work and dedication.

Even as a captain he started off promisingly... he looked aggressive (always trying something new), didn't really seemed to care for records over wins (declaring an innings when Tendulkar was on the verge of getting a 200), didn't really mind dropping non-performing seniors (Ganguly, Zaheer)... supported all-rounders consistently(Pathan, Dhoni)...encouraged playing youngsters more... leading from the front most of the times and batting even better. Indian cricket hadn't seen that sort of aggression for a long time.

It was all fine till his experiments were working and winning matches for India. But the moment they started failing, and India lost a couple of series while getting close to the world cup, the selectors gave into the media pressure, brought back the older players, showed no faith in the captain or the coach and things were back to square one in a hurry-burry!
I guess bringing back of Ganguly, who the media portrayed as a scapegoat of Dravid/Chappel's strategy only messed up things more, adding to the confusion in the dressing room.
It's tough to believe that Dravid, a simple man that he is, had anything against Ganguly. He was probably just doing his job. And Ganguly anyway didn't warrant a place in the team solely as a batsman at that time.

And of course the world cup was one (un)forgettable affair...first round exit... something no one was prepared to witness...

By then, Dravid must have realized that the fans are supportive only as long as you win...couple of losses and your wins are all forgotten...
He must have realized that any further experimentations will not be taken positively and if at all they fail (which is likely when the team is on a low), then he'll have to take the entire wrath. That's why I think we saw a change in his strategy after the world cup. He was more of a planner, sticking to his regular batters, bowlers and not really doing anything drastic and staying away from any sort of risk, being too cautious at times.
When before he used to lead from the front, now he was seen going down the order. There was no doubt that he wasn't being himself any more...

Unlike his batting career which only got better and better, his captaincy had been on a sudden decline. It was obvious that he wasn't enjoying it anymore and was probably waiting to be let off the hook and get back to concentrate more on batting, which as per his high standards, had also hit a low for some time.

When former Indian captains were known to be sacked from captaincy, I'm glad he resigned honorably, that too on a winning note and showed what a gentleman he is.
Of course, the irony is that he'll always be remembered for not enforcing follow-on rather than for having won a historic series in England!

Now Rahul Dravid is back to doing what he does best - serve the team with his batting. He still being as youthful and fit as ever, for the next few years that he has left in international cricket, I hope he hits his peak again and gives the younger players a lesson or two on consistency.

Good luck to you, sir!