Not Just Another Cricket Match

Picture Courtesy: Google Images

I was looking forward to this day for the past three years. Of all the match-ups in the whole season, this was the only contest I really wanted to see. In 2011, this particular match was a complete washout because of the rain. Last year, I was not even in a position to walk when the match took place, but I was happy because we demolished them that day. This year, there were no obstacles, or so I thought when I booked the tickets to watch the IPL match between Rajasthan Royals and the Royal Challengers Bangalore on the 20^th of April. One team in which my idol, Rahul Dravid, plays at present; versus the other which betrayed him. Nothing would make me happier than seeing my idol in person and him being the victorious captain of a team against his former team on his ‘home’ ground.

This day was special to me in more ways than one. Not only was I ecstatic to watch my idol live, but it was also going to be my first ever “Live” match. Yes, I know it sounds very shameful that I had never watched a cricket match in a stadium before, but there’s always a first for everything. My passion for my beloved cricket is unparalleled, but I always preferred watching the game from the comforts of my home rather than watching it live in the stadium. 

I never saw Dravid bat live in a Test Match in a stadium, which is probably my only regret as far as my beloved game is concerned. So, this particular match became all the more special as it might possibly be Dravid’s last competitive match on his home ground. He may not come back to play another season, although I said the same thing last year as well. So, there is a glimmer of hope of Dravid coming back next year, but it all depends on how he feels—mentally and physically. He would be 41 by then. Anyway, if this was going to be his swan song, then I had to be there at any cost.

There was a little drama even before the start of the match, nothing related to the Cricket of course. Because of the blasts that happened in Bangalore just three days before the match, the security was beefed up around the city, especially for this match. The stadium had turned into a fortress, almost.

The day finally arrived and I, along with my buddy Suraj, made my way to the stadium. My first experience inside a stadium was absolutely amazing. My excitement reached its peak when I saw my idol for the very first time. Dravid walked into the stadium in his training gear and started analyzing the pitch as he always does before the start of a match. There was a huge roar when he entered the stadium by a sparsely filled crowd.

My eyes were firmly set on him as I watched his every move. I was absolutely awestruck, as I couldn’t believe I was watching him live for the first time. The actual start of the match was still two hours away, while Dravid and his teammates continued their practising session. After analyzing the pitch, Dravid got his pads on and started hitting a few balls in the nets. Although he was practising at the far end of the stadium as compared to where I was seated, I could still feel his absolutely commendable work ethic. This wasn’t new to me; he has been doing that for the past 17 years. 

Even after retiring from international cricket a year ago, he still looked great physically. Dravid taking a break from his commentating duties after the recently concluded India-Australia Test series to prepare for this year’s IPL shows his commitment and determination. I was privileged to witness all that live for the very first time.

Virat Kohli won the toss and RCB chose to field first. Any team chasing always has a distinct advantage on this ground, and hence I was expecting RR to bat last, but it wasn’t to be. We needed a good start from Watson and Rahane but they fell very early in the innings. The run rate didn’t even touch six until the 8^th over. Dravid was struggling but was fighting it out. I finally got to witness my idol bat live, but at that moment, I was so involved in the match, I didn’t even realize it. 

The run rate was slowly starting to pick up, and Dravid also started to find his shots, which gave me immense joy and happiness. That feeling just can’t be described in words. His flicks, his straight drives, his cover drives, his backfoot punches down the ground—absolutely sublime. While many of those shots found the fielders, it was pure bliss to watch him play those shots. I was absolutely gutted when Dravid holed out for a fighting 35. It was an absolute privilege to witness my idol bat, and I was content with the fact that he fought it out in the middle when the going was tough and again came up with rock-solid innings. When Dravid fell, the score was 97 for 4, and the rest of the team just dramatically collapsed. We eventually holed out for an inadequate score of 117. I wanted to leave the field at that instant, but there was still some optimism left inside me. But honestly, I knew our fate was sealed.

In the second half, even though I knew what the result would be eventually, I still kept rooting for my team till the very end and made some RCB fans around me very angry. I observed Dravid field all the way through; he would mostly field in the first slip or the mid-off. I was keenly observing his mannerisms as I didn’t know if or when I would get that chance again. I learnt a lot of new things about my idol that day. Something that would stay with me for a long long time.

For many, it was just another cricket match. For me, it was something way beyond. Thank you, Rahul Dravid for all the memories.

Match Scorecard: RR vs RCB

Rahul Dravid's Retirement Finally Sinks In

Rahul Dravid - My Idol
Image Courtesy: Google Images

Today, when the Indian Test Team takes the field against New Zealand, one player who has been an important part of my growing up years, the person who I have idolized and worshipped since the past 16 years will not take the field today. Rahul Dravid will not be a part of the Indian Test Team anymore. This will be a very emotional moment for me as I am not used to seeing an Indian Test side without my Idol. Dravid had missed only 3 Tests in his entire career, 2 against South Africa in 2010 and 1 against Sri Lanka in 2005 due to injuries. He was a part of each and every Test Match India has played since his debut in 1996, apart from those 3 matches. So technically, today will indeed be the very first time I won’t be seeing Dravid take the field in a Test Match for India. It has been 5 Months and 2 Weeks since his retirement but the fact that he has retired will finally sink in when India goes out to bat today and the first wicket falls but Dravid will not walk into bat at No.3, that will be very difficult for me to watch. Today will be a very emotional day for every Dravid fan.

I remember when Dravid announced his retirement on 9^th of March this year; I was going through the most devastating week of my life. I had to undergo an operation called “Core Decompression” on both my hips for my condition, Avascular Necrosis, due to which I was confined to a wheelchair for the next two months. The day when I got discharged, that is the day before his retirement, I had no clue about the announcement. When I checked my Facebook and Twitter; I could only see posts regarding Dravid’s impending retirement as he had called for a press meet the following day. I almost brushed it off as another rumor and didn’t believe it at first.

But Dravid had indeed called the press meet on March 9^th and announced his retirement as gracefully as he has played Cricket his entire career. Even when I heard the words from his own mouth that he is retiring, I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t even cry for the next few hours. I had no tribute post ready as I was not prepared for his retirement. It took me a few hours to compose myself to write one final tribute post. It was also my first day getting used to moving around the house in a wheelchair, so it became equally difficult for me to write the post, physically as well as emotionally. I couldn’t sit on the wheelchair for long as my feet would swell nor could I sit on a bed and write the post as my back would give away. In-spite of all the obstacles, I decided to write one final tribute post for my Idol.

I am absolutely proud of this post as I wrote it in the most extreme circumstances, it is the most difficult post I ever had to write, and it incidentally is also my longest post. It took me well over 4 hours to finish the post as I had to take breaks at regular intervals to give my legs some rest. But eventually it did take a toll on me, sitting on a wheelchair for that long isn’t such a good idea, that too a day after getting discharged. After I finished my post, my feet had swollen. I had to listen to a mouthful from my mom for risking my own health while writing that post, even poor Dravid was not spared by my mom. But such is my passion; I had to write that post, I had put in everything into that post but it did hurt me when not many people actually read the entire post. The people who read it and commented on it, I am always thankful but it didn’t get the kind of readership I expected.

Anyways you can read the post here: My Idol Rahul Dravid Retires - A Nostalgic Tribute. Please do take some time out and read this post. It will make me very happy.

Laxman and Dravid during their epic partnership in the Kolkata Test - 2001
Image Courtesy: Google Images

Apart from Dravid, another legend VVS Laxman will also not take the field today for India. He was an absolute magician with the bat, a genius who was part of the famous quartet which also included Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly. Laxman made his Test debut a few months after Dravid and Ganguly made theirs, in 1996. He announced his retirement a few days ago despite being selected for the Two-Test series against New Zealand starting today. It is really unfortunate Laxman had to bid a tearful adieu to International Cricket as he was hurt by some of the comments made by former Cricketers in a few columns. As he didn’t want to be a burden to the team and wanted to give youngsters a chance, he gracefully quit from the game.

India had suffered two humiliating series defeats overseas against England and Australia respectively in the past year. We lost 8 consecutive Test Matches. It was our worst performance in over 30 years. Although Dravid was in outstanding form against England, scoring 3 centuries, even though we lost the series 4-0 but Laxman was in dreadful form, managed to score more than 50 only 3 times in eight Tests. In what turned out to be their final Test series against Australia in early 2012, both Dravid and Laxman had very dismal series; it was heartbreaking to see such legends bow out from the game in that fashion. But it takes nothing away from the fact that those two will always remain two of the greatest cricketers to have ever played the game.

Dravid and Laxman bid tearful farewells to International Cricket. Two of the most well behaved Cricketers you would ever come across who epitomized “The Gentlemen’s Game” by being true gentlemen. It is an irreparable loss not just to Indian Cricket but to World Cricket. They will surely be missed. 

My Idol Rahul Dravid Retires - A Nostalgic Tribute

"I leave with sadness but also with pride"
Image Source: Rediff.Com

This will be extremely difficult for me to write, my mind is completely blank and I absolutely have no idea what to say. I feel numb and emotionless. I didn’t even cry when I heard him say those words, I didn’t believe it then and many hours later I still can't believe it. I am still in denial. It still hasn’t hit me yet; maybe I need a lot more time to finally accept the fact that I will no longer be seeing my Idol and my Inspiration from the past 16 years on a cricket pitch wearing the white jersey to represent India again. Yes, my Idol Rahul Dravid announced his retirement from International Cricket today.

I feel devastated. Even though I was expecting it for sometime now, knowing Dravid for all these years I knew he wouldn’t just hang up his boots after just one bad series. I knew he will take his time and contemplate on his future and he will go out on his own terms before someone else asks him to. And he did just that.

I don’t feel any emotion right now as I type this. I don’t know whether I am sad or confused, I just feel weird. My emotions have clouded me once again. Rahul Dravid does that to me all the time. But I shall try to recover and try to put some meaningful words to my thoughts on a precious day like today, instead of rambling something meaningless.

My first image of Dravid was in 1996 when I saw a photo of him in a newspaper. This was the day he made his Test debut against England and went on to score a memorable 95 in his debut Test. It was heartbreaking he didn’t get his 100 on debut but those 95 runs were enough for me to become a fan of Dravid. And I have idolized him ever since. I still remember the exact moment when Dravid scored his maiden Test and ODI centuries against South Africa and Pakistan respectively. 

I became nostalgic for a while remembering all the numerous fights I used to have in school with anyone who used to say a word against Dravid. In 1998, Dravid was dropped from the ODI team citing he was not suited to play the shorter format of the game. He was ridiculed and made fun of for his supposedly slow batting. He still had a strike rate in the higher 60’s at that time which was not that bad, so I had no idea what those fools were talking about. Most part of my High School life consisted of defending Dravid and his prowess in any format of the game. Sometimes those healthy discussions about whether Dravid should be a part of the ODI side or not used to turn violent and we almost used to end up giving physical blows to each other and most of whom were my closest friends back then. Our class consisted of 53 students in my 8th Standard and I was the only true blue Dravid fanatic. All the 52 others were Sachin fanatics of course. That year Sachin was having the best year of his career and Dravid was made to sit out of most ODI’s and played only Tests. I was clearly outnumbered but still fought hard quite literally to defend my Idol. 

The following year, Dravid made a stunning return to the ODI’s by scoring a century against New Zealand to earn back the place in the Indian ODI side and also went on to become the highest scorer in the 1999 World Cup, shutting each and every critics’ mouth over his prowess in the 50-Over format. And in my class, no one even dared to say a word against Dravid after that. All my friends even started calling me Rahul Dravid, the name kind of became a code word to call me out of an examination hall, in particular. I still remember back in 1999, my friends shouting from outside the exam hall in frustration, “Hey, Rahul Dravid come out man, how much longer are you gonna write?.” I also believed in the notion - “slow and steady wins the race”. Just like my Idol.

Rahul, ever the team man always sacrificed his personal gains for his team. He kept wickets for 4 years so that we could include an extra batsman in the side. Just because he kept wickets and also played the role of a No.6 Batsman, it gave numerous chances to up and coming young Cricketers like Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif to cement their place in the Indian team. Also this move of Dravid keeping wickets was instrumental in India reaching the finals of the World Cup in 2003.

When he was called to open the batting in some extremely tough batting conditions, Dravid has always put his hand up for the team and withered the storm. He has batted in each and every position conceivable. I was really upset when he was demoted down the order in that historic Kolkata Test in 2001 where Laxman was the No.3 batsman. Dravid came in at No.6 and joined Laxman with India following on and staring at a huge innings defeat. Well, I guess I need not mention what happened later as that glorious partnership between Dravid and Laxman has been and will always be etched in every Indian’s minds and hearts forever.

In 2002, another outstanding innings came from Dravid in the Headingley Test against England. Dravid’s stunning 148 on a seamer’s deck was the benchmark for everything that followed, not just the result of that particular match, but also the fortunes of the Indian team’s performance overseas for many years that followed. It was also the first time the three stalwarts of the Indian team, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid scored centuries in a single innings. Maybe Dravid’s century was overshadowed by the centuries of the other two greats but if it wasn’t for Rahul's magnificent defiance in the initial stages of the innings on a bowler friendly track, it would have been almost impossible for the famed Indian middle order to showcase their mastery. Dravid was the reason we were able to win that match by an innings. He was aptly named the Man of the Match, deservedly so.

The man who never stopped trying
Image Source: Rediff.Com.

I remember Dravid shedding a tear or two when he was speaking to Harsha Bhogle after another historic victory against Australia in Adelaide in 2003 where Dravid was once again in a stunning 300+ run partnership with Laxman. This victory gave India their first Test win on Australian soil in 23 years. That was the very first time I saw my Idol showcase any emotion on or off a cricket pitch, at least in front of the camera. It was a really precious moment which I can never forget, his voice choking a bit while expressing what that victory really meant to him and the team.

I will also cherish all the arguments and discussions I used to have in many Cricket forums on Orkut and elsewhere. I know Sachin’s fans were still miffed about Dravid declaring that innings in Multan in 2004 when Sachin was batting on 194. Dravid was very clear as a captain that team’s victory is more important than a player's personal milestones, even if that player was Sachin Tendulkar. I have argued with many Sachin fanatics defending Dravid’s decision of declaring that innings although most of those arguments turned futile.

Dravid again proved why he is the team man when he scored his career high score of 270 in Rawalpindi against Pakistan in 2004. More importantly, I remember the way he got out. India had already got enough runs on the board to declare the innings and bowl Pakistan out, twice. But Rahul Dravid, a self-less team man, realized his team needed some more quick runs, so he went after the Pakistani bowling attack and got bowled while attempting to play a reverse-sweep when he was on 270. He had a great chance of scoring a Triple Hundred which may have been once in a lifetime opportunity but Dravid, never played for personal milestones. His mammoth effort gave India their first ever Test series win in Pakistan.

Critics say his Captaincy was a failure, maybe the statistics show that his captaincy stint from November 2005 until September 2007 was average. But in this very period we held the World Record of chasing to win most number of matches consecutively in ODI’s. A Test series win in West Indies and England and a Test match win in South Africa. 

Dravid was absolutely outstanding in the fourth and final Test in Jamaica against the West Indies in 2006. He scored 81 and 68 in the match on a really difficult pitch where no other Indian batsman even came close to scoring a half century. His dogged determination was instrumental in India winning that test match and with that, the series. A rare series win outside the sub-continent, first in 35 years against a major opposition. These wins kind of removed the tag Indians carried for a long time, ‘Poor Travelers’. 

The World Cup in 2007 was extra special for me because my Idol was in-fact the Captain. I wanted him to have the tag of a World Cup winner, that too as a Captain before he decided to hang up his boots, but those dreams came crashing down as India was shockingly knocked out in the group stage itself. The memories still haunt me.

In 2008, when he was going through probably the most terrible phase in his Test career, I prayed each and every day hoping Rahul will be back on track soon and would definitely recover from this slump. Many skeptics were already gunning for this throat and asking for him to retire. But Dravid fought back that lean phase and made a stunning return to form. He remained consistent for the next four years until his retirement, today. Only blemish would be the South African tour of 2010-11 and the tour of Australia in 2011-12 where he performed way below his potential averaging less than 30. He even made a brief appearance in ODI’s in 2009 and 2011, finally announcing his retirement from the shorter formats of the game last year.

The year 2011 will be remembered for Dravid’s remarkable return to form where he scored centuries against England and West Indies, five in all. Also went past 1,000 runs in a calendar year for the third time in his Test Career. Dravid scored three unforgettable centuries in England, two of them while opening the batting and facing some stunning and ruthless English bowling attack. Dravid was the only batsman to score a century for India in that series, aggregating 461 runs while no other Indian batsman went past 250 runs. I can never forget Dravid opening the innings in the Final Test at The Oval, he fought like a warrior as his team mates succumbed to the pressure again. Dravid kept on fighting and carried his bat all the way through. He became only the 7th Batsman in history to carry his bat through the innings and walk back in just after a few minutes to a follow-on. Just thinking about this moment, gives me goose bumps.

Thank you, Rahul Dravid for being what you are, a thorough Gentleman, a Role Model, an Icon and most importantly, a great human being. I will miss your batting, your amazing catches in the slips, the way you dab the ball gently and run to the non-striker’s end for a quick single with your bat being held only by your right hand and not both hands. I will miss seeing you running behind the ball to stop a boundary; I will miss the look of determination in your eyes while you are chasing that ball. The way you examine the pitch before the start of a match, I love your love for such details. Your shy yet candid press interviews which shows your intellectual ability. The way you mention “obviously” before or in the middle of almost every sentence to clear your thought process. I will miss those days when I used to go to school in the morning on a match day, you had already walked into bat, I come back from school and you are still batting; which used to make my day. I will miss when someone tells me, the score is 28 for no loss and I gasp and say, “Ahhh, wish it was 28 for one”, so that I can watch you bat. Nothing in the world gives me more happiness and satisfaction than watching you bat which I will miss the most. I can sit and watch you bat all day long, I can watch you build an innings, one ball at a time, brick by brick in a pain-staking manner in the only way you can, which would give me immense pleasure and happiness.

I will miss you Dravid, Thanks for all the wonderful memories. I will cherish them for a lifetime. You did leave the game better than you found it.

Your Greatest Fan,
Akshay Kumar G

Happy 39th Birthday - My Idol Rahul Dravid

Happy Birthday Rahul :)

Picture Courtesy: Rajasthan Royals Official Fan Club

One of the greatest Cricketers ever to have played the game, the one who has been an inspiration and role model to many budding Cricketers during the course of his 15 year International Cricket career, turns 39 today.

I am going through really strange and mixed emotions right now because from the past few days I feel like I am about to lose something precious, something which has been a part of me for a long long time. I get a strange feeling Rahul Dravid is going to announce his retirement soon, maybe as soon as the ongoing series against Australia concludes by the end of this month (if rumors are to be believed). I know he is 39 now, he can't carry on forever but still I really can't fathom the fact that I am not going to see my Idol play Test Cricket much longer. I know that retirement will be least of the worries on Dravid's mind right now. He would really want to concentrate on the remaining two tests and level the series by winning the next two tests. It will be a daunting task indeed (well almost impossible), considering India's poor showing with both bat and ball in this series. I am probably not making any justice to this post by cribbing only about Dravid's retirement on a day I am supposed to be happy. My thoughts are very emotionally clouded right now and I just can't think straight.

I had a lot of things planned to post here today. I had been collecting picture cut outs and articles of Dravid from various News Papers and Magazines from maybe 1997 on wards. I was planning to post all the pics here, all my collection over the years but heartbreakingly I can't seem to find those precious pictures and articles. I don't remember where I have kept them since we moved to a new place a couple of years ago. I know it is in a safe place in my home but I can't seem to find them right now. I am so distraught and frustrated. I am sitting here and typing this and my heart feels heavy.

Anyways I am not going to bore anyone with my whining anymore on this post. I am going to conclude with this lovely tribute to Dravid on his 39th Birthday, made by a fellow Dravid fan. :)

I'll try to enjoy this day and not worry about Dravid's retirement even though its hard for me not to think about it. No matter how much longer he plays now, I'll cherish each and every moment.  

Happy 39th Birthday, Rahul Dravid. Thank you for being my Idol and my Inspiration since the past 15 years and will always remain so. :)

Rahul Dravid's speech at Sir Don Bradman Oration - My Thoughts

Rahul Dravid on Wednesday, Dec 14 became the first Indian to deliver a speech at Sir Donald Bradman Oration in Canberra.

You can watch the whole speech here:

Well, my thoughts on my Idol's awe-inspiring speech at the 2011 Sir Donald Bradman Oration might have come a day or two late. That's only because I was left completely speechless by Rahul's amazing oratory skills, his dignity, his modesty, his integrity, his humility, his pride, his knowledge about the game and its history, his wittiness, his meticulously chosen words, his thoughtful and considered observations... well just about everything. It was an absolutely brilliant speech, one of the most compelling and insightful speeches I have ever listened to by a sportsman. It took me almost a day to recover from that awesomeness, so I finally started to jot down my thoughts about that speech.

Humbled as Dravid was for being the first foreigner to deliver the Sir Donald Bradman Oration speech at The War Memorial in Canberra held every year to celebrate the life and career of the greatest Cricketer to have ever played the game, Sir Donald Bradman.

He started off by talking about the bond between India and Australia which goes beyond Cricket pitches. Much before Indians and Australians were competitors on the pitch, they were comrades off it, who fought wars together. Dravid also took some time to remember the unknown soldiers from both countries who laid down their lives in the war.

Next, Dravid spoke about how the great Don who never having played a single Test match in India still is the most venerated Cricketer. Later he went on to share some anecdotes and fun stories about Bradman, some of it were very witty and had the audience in splits.

Bradman passed away on Feb 25, 2001 just two days before the historic Test series between India and Australia were to begin. Dravid thought Bradman would have loved to watch that series which is now considered as one of the greatest ever in the history of Cricket.

Dravid continued to talk about the India-Australia rivalry over the past decade which Australia dominated. He said India was the only team to stand up to the Aussie domination and the quality of Cricket played between two sides has been uplifting and exhilarating and also sometimes controversial. And hence whenever the two sides meet the anticipation and expectation is immense. And so in the coming two months of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, players on both sides will want to deliver their best.

“If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.” 
Image Courtesy: Google Images

Now let’s glance upon some of the issues that Dravid touched upon:

 “At the moment, to much of the outside world, Indian cricket represents only two things - money and power.”

He chose to speak about how Indian Cricket which is perceived by the outside world as only representing two things, Money and Power. He said this one-dimensional, often clichéd image relentlessly repeated is not what Indian cricket is really all about. Rahul gave quite a few anecdotes and explained how the wealth generated by Indian Cricket by million-dollar deals and television rights had actually transformed the game of princes and well-to-do businessmen into that of the people, whatever their language, background or financial standing. This was beautifully demonstrated by an illustration of diversity now found within the Indian dressing room. He compared Indian Cricket’s growth in the past 10 to 15 years with that of the country itself. Due to the revenues generated since the past two decades, the standard of play has improved and so has the facilities and the game has spread to various other parts of the country and not just the big cities like Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi etc. Dravid gave examples of some success stories like Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag, Munaf Patel and Umesh Yadav who have made it big and have earned a place in the Indian side, coming from small towns with no proper facilities.

“India has played 227 ODI's at home; the October five-match series against England was the first time that the grounds have not been full for an ODI featuring the Indian team.”

Rahul also touched on many other relevant issues concerning the game of Cricket including dwindling of crowds in International Cricket, which in his words has reached an "alarming" state in the past few years. The reason for it being flaws in scheduling of Cricket matches, unnecessary ODI's being played which don't have any context. Or maybe it was spectator-fatigue. Whatever the reason maybe, he said the fans have sent a clear message and it’s high time something needs to be done to rectify it. He also explained how empty stands do not make for good television viewing, which in turn will affect the television ratings. And the fall in ratings will make the advertisers eventually looking elsewhere. He said it’s really important to give the average Cricket fan what he deserves; disrespecting them is like disrespecting the game itself.

“If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.”

Next he spoke about another important aspect of the game which is bringing the game down, corruption. In-spite of strong anti-corruption measures, the internet and other modern technologies will always be a step ahead of any anti-corruption regulation. So, Dravid suggested that the onus should be on the players themselves to be willing to be monitored and regulated closely even if it means giving up a little bit of freedom of movement and privacy. He also suggested players not to say no to dope tests and also undergoing lie-detector tests as an option to tackle corruption. It would certainly help the innocent come clean.

“Charting out a clear road map for all the three formats is a challenge.”

Dravid next touched upon another important aspect of the game that is balancing all the three formats of the game. He explained how a series containing 2 Tests, 7 ODI’s and a few Twenty20’s thrown in will only hinder the true development of the player and also throw the scheduling completely off gear.

“No one ever fell in love with Test cricket because they wanted to be a businessman. Not everything of value comes at a price.”

He stressed Test Cricket is the gold standard and the bests of the game know this is the format their greatness as a Cricketer will be judged by. And so, Test Cricket needs to be protected. He suggested a few measures in this regard:

1) Day-Night Tests

2) Test Championship

3)Taking the game to smaller cities or playing in grounds which have smaller capacity

4) Or maybe reviving some old Cricket venues

He also called for cutting down on the number of ODI’s played which don’t have much context, rather he suggested the focus should be on the main ICC Tournaments like the World Cup and the Champions Trophy. This would ensure that all 50-over matches would build up for those tournaments and will also cut down on the number of ODI’s played. The matches which will be played will also have a context.

For Twenty20’s Dravid said it has its best place as a contest between domestic teams or clubs. A view shared by many dignitaries in the crowd including the Cricket Australia Chairmen, past and present.

Before concluding, Dravid said, it was still possible to feel the same rush of excitement that accompanied his first boundary, first catch, or first victory. He said every Cricketer should cherish it and hang on to it.

After enthralling the audience for over 40 minutes with a wide range of topics like issues of money, attendances, formats and corruption, everyone rose to applaud a brilliant and insightful speech on the spirit of Cricket by a Legend whose oratory skills are as classy and masterful as his batting itself.

The Great Wall is now 13,000 Bricks Strong!

Rahul Dravid acknowledges the crowd after scoring his 13,000th run
Image Courtesy: Cricinfo

My Idol Rahul Dravid completes an extraordinary milestone of 13,000 runs in Test Cricket, the second ever in the history of Test Cricket to do so. Only other player to achieve this feat is the icon Sachin Tendulkar who has scored over 15,000 runs.

Also with this innings, Dravid went past 1,000 runs this calendar year - Only player to do so this year, so far. And this is the third time Dravid has amassed 1,000 or more runs in a calendar year. The previous occasions when he achieved this feat were in 2002 and 2006.

Dravid went past 13,000 runs soon after lunch on Day 3 of the third Test against West Indies in Mumbai when he drove West Indies skipper Darren Sammy through the covers for a classic boundary, showcasing the vintage Rahul Dravid, which gave me immense joy and happiness.

Dravid has been in outstanding form this year scoring 5 centuries, two against West Indies and three against England, in England. Four out of those 5 centuries have come in very tough conditions and Dravid has delivered when the team needed the most as he always does.

The first century came in Jamaica under some extremely tough batting conditions. Dravid's century was instrumental in India winning that Test Match which helped India win that 3-Test series 1-0.

The next 3 centuries came in England again under tough batting conditions and a brilliant English bowling attack. Dravid's effort was absolutely monumental; it was a super-human performance by Dravid where every other Indian batsman failed except him. He was the only Indian batsman to score a century in that series. India suffered a humiliating 4-0 whitewash and all of Dravid's brilliant centuries in the series ended in defeats, heartbreakingly.

The 5^th century this year came in this series against the West Indies in the Kolkata Test which Dravid himself described as one of the easiest centuries he has made.

Image Courtesy: Cricinfo

I was expecting Dravid to amass his 37^th Test Century today but unfortunately he was bowled for a well-made 82 of the bowling of Marlon Samuels when he tried to cut the ball which was not quite there to be cut and also the ball didn't bounce as much as Dravid expected, barely clipping his off stump and knocking off the bails. Dravid was unsure and so he waited for the Third Umpire's decision where the replays showed he was indeed bowled.

Assuming Dravid might not get a chance to bat in this match again, he has one more Test Match to play until the end of this year against Australia in the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. So, I am hoping Dravid will remain the highest run scorer this year and end this year on a high in what has been a fantastic year for the batting great.

Take a bow, my Inspiration, Rahul "The Wall" Dravid.

To My Idol Rahul Dravid – A Tribute (Part 3)

Rahul Dravid gets a standing ovation from the crowd after a brilliantly crafted 69 in his final ODI innings
Image Courtesy: Cricinfo

It's exactly 9:45PM in my watch, Dravid batting at 69, realizes he needs to up the ante as only 8 overs to go. He has been trying to go for the big shots after reaching his half century but failing to middle the ball on most occasions, been edging quite a few balls. Clearly trying to get a move on and increase the scoring rate but not getting those boundaries as often as he would have liked. So this time goes on the front foot and tries to clear the mid-on boundary unselfishly as he has always been contributing not for his personal cause but for the team's cause for over 15 years, but misses the ball and it hits his stumps. My heart stopped for a moment. Rahul Dravid walks off the ground after playing his very last innings wearing the blue. He is being congratulated by his team mate Virat Kohli and all the English players for his outstanding contribution in this format of the game - such a nice gesture by the English players, showing their respect for the great man. As he walks off the ground to a standing ovation by the thousands gathered in the ground, silently tears start to stroll down my cheeks. I just couldn't control my emotions. I was witnessing my Idol wearing the Blue jersey for the very last time. He graciously acknowledges the crowd and walks off the ground. What a great end to a stellar innings and a brilliant career. 

I just hope that our bowlers would at least be able to defend a competitive score of 304 and win this match. Dravid deserves a good send-off. He has been humiliated, insulted, disrespected and used in the past. But a great player like Dravid deserves a nice send-off. Hopefully we can finally come together as a unit and win our first match in what has been a dismal tour and end this tour on a high. Hopefully three hours from now, tears would be strolling down my cheeks again and I just hope those tears would be happy tears. (If weather gods permit, that is. I am optimistic, let's hope for the best for Dravid's sake at least).

Rahul Dravid, one of the greatest Cricketers to have ever played the game, an absolute Legend, My Idol, My Inspiration. I will surely miss you not wearing the blue jersey and playing for India again as will millions of your fans and well wishers. Thank You for all the wonderful memories. I will always cherish them.

To My Idol Rahul Dravid – A Tribute (Part 2)

Rahul Dravid opens his account by fending away a short ball.
Image Courtesy: Cricinfo

My Idol Rahul Dravid walks out to bat on his T20I debut which also happens to be his last as I type this. My excitement has reached a whole new level and my happiness has no bounds. I finally see my idol wearing the Blue again after two years.

He looks a bit tentative but has nothing to lose, hence he can bat without any inhibitions and my only wish would be for him to make a rock solid half century which would result in a win for us or a quick fire 30 or a 40 would also make me happy. Hell, I wouldn’t even mind us losing this match if Dravid scores a century. Well, that would be a dream send off, wouldn’t it?

Currently he’s scored 8 of 12 balls, not bad. Dravid lofts one straight down the ground, falls safely. Phew. Meanwhile the other debutant Ajinkya Rahane has just reached his half century. Kudos to him, he might be the next big hope for Indian Cricket.

But the best moment of the day was yet to arrive and it finally did when Dravid smashed 3 humongous sixes in a row of the bowling of Samit Patel. It was the greatest sight in the world, I wish I could’ve been there live in the stadium to watch it but still those 3 sixes by my Idol just made my year.

For the first one, Dravid cleared his front leg to whack the ball high over long-on. It was around quarter past 11PM here and my scream was so loud after the first six, I might have woken up a few neighbors unless they were also watching this absolute spectacle and screaming with me.

And then it got better. The next delivery, Rahul danced down the wicket, he chose the long-on region again, it had enough legs to clear the boundary for another six. My screams got even louder. I was feeling like a teenager all over again.

And then it got even better for the third one. The final delivery of the over culminated when Rahul swept the ball high over the square-leg boundary for a humongous six. The best six of the three and I literally went crazy at this point. My screams were at its loudest and my happiness had no bounds.

My idol again did what he does best, silently contributing to the team unselfishly when it needs the most. Only this time he is going out making a loud thud!

Dravid's Twenty20 international batting career lasted 21 deliveries in 23 minutes scoring 31 runs with a strike rate of 147.61, a truly unforgettable innings.

By this innings Dravid again showed what playing for India really means to him. Even though he doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone, still this innings will be a slap on everyone’s faces who doubted his abilities in the shorter formats of the game.

Today has undoubtedly been one of the happiest days of the year for me, if not the happiest. I will cherish each and every moment of my Idol’s farewell ODI series.

Well played Rahul. You will forever be my Idol and my Inspiration. Thank You.

To My Idol Rahul Dravid – A Tribute (Part 1)

Rahul Dravid
Image Courtesy: Cricinfo

Initially when I set out to write this post, it was supposed to be about my thoughts on Rahul in his Farewell T20 and ODI series. I was going to write a tribute to my Idol after the ODI series concluded, but as I started to write this few other thoughts came to mind and I typed them down. So now this post has turned out to be a tribute in its own right. I know anything I write about my Idol as a tribute would fall short in terms of how well I convey my emotions about him or in terms of the vocabulary I have used. Any new adjective I use to describe him would only end up being just that, another adjective. Dravid’s greatness is way beyond any adjective which is used to describe him. And emotionally I wouldn’t be able to do justice because I really can’t express my true emotions about people I love the most. And Rahul Dravid is one such person whom I have idolized and loved since the past 15 years.

I wrote some parts of this post while the T20 match was going on against England and so my thoughts might seem a bit emotionally clouded and repetitive. My feelings varied from Dravid getting dropped from ODI’s to an almost running commentary of my Idol’s only T20I match. So I decided to make this post as a two part tribute, the other part will feature my feelings on the T20 match. But it is still a very honest and sincere attempt at expressing my love and support for my inspiration, The Wall.

***

At 38, my Idol Rahul Dravid is making his T20I debut, 15 years after he made his International debut which I vividly remember. He has already announced his retirement from the ODI’s and T20s so this match will be his first and his last ever T20I followed by his farewell ODI series.

This is a very unique statistic for Rahul; he announced his retirement even before he made his debut in the T20 format. Definitely a future trivia question for all Cricket quiz enthusiasts there. I will cherish each and every moment of my Idol’s farewell series. I thought I would never get to see Rahul play another ODI again, let alone a T20 match but I’m lucky enough to see that day come true and nothing makes me happier.

When Dravid was dropped from the ODI’s after an ordinary series against the Aussies in 2007, I was devastated. I thought his ODI career was pretty much over, he might never get a chance to play another ODI again. But two years later in 2009, my hopes were re-kindled when he was picked for the Compaq Cup and the Champions Trophy which was to be held in South Africa. Mainly due to the poor showing of the youngsters in the team who were unable to play the short ball on bouncy wickets outside the sub-continent. So due to the technique or the lack of it from the “youngsters” in the team, they had to summon the old guard again. So Rahul Dravid comes to the rescue. In spite of more than a decent batting performance where his scores read 14, 47, 39, 76 and 4 in his five innings and he was also called to open in the Compaq Cup final. Despite his good showing in bowler-friendly South African tracks he was again axed from the team unceremoniously. Because the next series was going to be held at home against the Aussies and the youngsters in the team were only flat-track bullies, so now Dravid’s services were no longer needed in the shorter format of the game.

Dravid was used and dropped from the team as if he was a tea bag thrown into a dustbin after every ounce of juice has been sucked from it. You cannot disrespect a player of Dravid’s caliber in that way. The manner in which he was dropped was downright disgusting and insulting. But Dravid – the Gentleman that he is never complained about it, just went about doing his work with same commitment and determination. His resolve is so strong that can never be broken with these petty insults.

As the countdown to the World Cup in 2011 kept getting closer, I kept losing hope of seeing my Idol wearing the Blue again one final time and lift the prestigious World Cup. As days went by, I finally realized that is never going to happen and Dravid will not be part of the One Day setup to play in the World Cup. I was obviously shattered but somehow made my peace with that. Even though we eventually won the World Cup after 28 long years, my happiness was bit muted because Dravid was not a part of it.

And now its déjà vu all over again, toured England as the No.1 Test team and got massacred by the English. The final score line read a humiliating 4-0 whitewash. This time it was not just because of the inability of our Batsmen to handle the short-pitched deliveries on bouncy wickets, it was also due to our toothless and one-dimensional bowling attack, dismal fielding and a truck load of injuries. It was a collective team failure. But one man stood out of the mediocrity and shone like a beacon, as always. The monumental effort by Dravid in the series, his sheer super human concentration, his courage, his determination, his commitment, his will power, his patience… I can go on and on but his performance just can’t be described in words. We were all so privileged to witness one of the greatest Test comebacks ever by a batsman. Dravid kept on fighting till the very end as others in the team disgraced themselves.

So it had to take such a super human performance by Dravid to make the dumb selectors recall him for the 5-match ODI series and the lone T20 match. But this time Dravid has had enough, he was not going to let them use him again at their will. So he immediately announced his retirement from the shorter formats of the game after this series on the same day he was recalled. Even though initially I was shocked but realized it was indeed the right decision as Dravid felt it was the right time to bow out from the shorter formats of the game on his own terms with his head held high.