The Wall Departs

This blog is becoming more of a tribute to great cricketers, and continuing this tradition, next in line is Rahul Dravid. In an era where classical batsmanship is losing out to attractive strokeplay, maybe he was the last of cricket’s true worshippers.

In the days before the cable TV era at my house, with a transistor under the pillow, listening to the commentary on AIR, the repetitive tone of “Dravid defends and no run” used to be the music of the theatre called Test cricket, punctuated with the ecstatic “yeh Dabur Chyawanprash Chauka”. And if you think he was dour, we also saw his 22-ball 50 that gave Sehwag a run for his money.

“The Wall” as he was called—though we must remember he didn’t particularly fancy the tag—produced his finest knocks in overseas Tests where he constructed famous victories. Who can forget Headingley (2002), Adelaide (2003), Rawalpindi (2004), or Kingston (2006)? Who can forget the monumental Kolkata turnaround in 2001?

His calming influence in the middle allowed more aggressive batsmen to express themselves, even in one-dayers. Remember Sachin’s 186, Ganguly’s 183, Sachin’s 140, Sehwag’s 108, Gambhir’s 103, and Sanjay Bangar’s courageous 57 alongside centuries by Dravid.

A complete team man who opened the batting and kept wickets for team balance, Dravid will be remembered through history as the man who faced the most balls in Test cricket history. With the number of Test matches not increasing and strike rates rising, it may remain a milestone like Bradman’s average that no one will ever surpass.

To quote him verbatim:

“I wouldn’t like to name one Indian player. I think there is a huge group of players that can be better than Rahul Dravid. I’m sure in 16–17 years’ time you will be attending a press conference of a player who has probably done a lot more than I have.”

For India’s sake, we hope it is true.