The curse of being Rahul Dravid

 (7 Oct 2013)

Being Rahul Dravid in an era when many Indian legends played the gentlemen’s game hasn’t been easy. Playing along with Sachin Tendulkar and still be able to leave a permanent mark on cricketing timelines as one of the greats who ever donned the cap has of course not been easy either. Despite all the historic moments Rahul mesmerized us with for so long, despite being the ever Mr. Dependable, despite earning the title of ‘The Wall’, and also despite exhibiting true gentlemanly traits on and off the field, he for no fault of his perhaps represented India in a period that could largely be seen as belonging to the wonder boy from Mumbai. The curse of being Rahul Dravid is that he times without count stood his ground at the 22-yards when the rest of the batsmen collapsed like a pack of cards, yet his unforgettable innings and winning contributions were sadly dwarfed by some of his more fancied teammates’ sometimes average performances.

True he did not during his initial days hit a four or a six on the first delivery he faced; he would instead patiently read the bowlers and gradually open up. True he needed time to gain acceptability as an ODI batsman who steadily but surely emerged as the most bankable willower in both the formats of the game. He in fact much later also conquered the T20 version, something that would have been unimaginable for someone who followed the early hours of Dravid’s career. But he did. And boy, didn’t he lead from the front? Didn’t he last night bow out on a real high despite losing the final match of his professional cricketing life?

Memories of my sister in her teen age collecting Dravid’s postcard-size photographs and hiding those in her books are as fresh in my mind as is all the madness girls back in the day incessantly showered on this chocolate-faced boy from Bangalore. All this media glare did not shake up an ounce of his focus; he knew he was out in the middle for a long haul, he knew he was technically sound, he knew he would work really hard on his game. He kept his life simple and chose not to get carried away by all the swooning and lure that he was getting used to being dangerously close to. He never lost his cool, he never threw tantrums on or off the ground, he was suave and smart. Everything he did – as a player and as a captain of the national side – may have always been overshadowed by the mere presence of Sachin Tendulkar, who got spoken about and written about more, even when matches were won by the unsung hero.

It is perhaps true that Sachin has been more flamboyant, more exciting to watch, more charismatic with runs. Rahul however hasn’t been any less in his own right, trying to win every match he played never caring for his personal milestones, trying to shed the last drop of his blood only so the tri-color could fly high. He played cricket, and nothing else. 

Rahul Dravid will not play a professional match again. We’ll never on the ground see this institution of talent, technique and grace hit a cover drive. That elegance forever will be missing. The cricketing horizon minus this sparkling rainbow shall never be the same again. Cricket will be played for generations to come. But the game of cricket without you, Rahul, will never be the same again. 

Sachin: God fallen off grace?

(30 Sep 2013)

I, like many my age, grew up in an era when a child prodigy stormed into the sporting arena with fire in the eyes and magic in the willow. This curly-haired wonder boy was one day going to not only make history as perhaps the greatest man to have played the game of cricket in our times, but also be elevated to the level of God. Sachin Tendulkar he is! No other cricketer – not even a Bradman or a Richards or a Warne – has ever been idolized with so intense frenzy by fans.

Is there any denying however that despite all of this, Sachin Tendulkar the phenomenon is a mere mortal, and that he will one day have to go? He’s already retired from the ODI format of the game. Some would argue he could have retired on a real high after India’s 2011 World Cup win at home. In the recent many months, Sachin has fallen prey to the mammoth shadow of his illustrious past, when he’s been repeatedly seen trying hard for shots that he would once play with silken ease. He’s been conquered by extremely bad deliveries and by average bowlers, times without count. It is a painful sight to behold for a cricket lover when their demi god struggles to make petty thirties and fifties. This simply isn’t something we’re used to seeing.

Rumors and theories have been abuzz on when Sachin should hang up his Test boots. Of course every individual athlete is the best judge to decide when they should play their last match. Sachin has maintained he still had the hunger for more cricket and that he was loving his game. None of us will ever be able to even imagine how proud, how humbling, how great it feels to be a Sachin and walk in to the middle with thousands of fans cheering from all over the ground. We’ll also never know how extremely difficult it is to time well the moment of graceful exit, leaving your fans to forever mourn that you could have played more and that you left at your prime. This truly is a Godly decision. There are too few sporting legends who could muster the courage to call it quits when they knew they could still hang on for some more time, out in the middle, amidst all the glare, all the fanfare, all the madness.

The nature of the beast is such that it ruthlessly bites everyone especially towards the twilight of their career. The fans who once were ready to die for you won’t mind booing you when you falter. Sachin fans will find it painful to remember their hero as someone who kept on trying and failing, rather than someone who was once the best in the business.

Sachin has already missed the opportunity to bow out at the peak. For many, he’s already fallen off the Godly grace. It’s disturbing for any lover of the game to imagine that this champion will keep trying and will one day be asked by a BCCI office bearer – a virtual nobody – to quit.

Nobody is bigger than the game they play. For cricket, the country comes first and I’m certain Sachin realizes that he’s been for some time fighting against too many natural odds. By trying harder and longer he isn’t going to achieve anything he hasn’t already. Our memories of Sachin’s heydays are too magical to ever be erased even by his own failures late in the day. The game of cricket will always be grateful to this man who not only played it, but glorified it in myriads of ways. Sachin’s biggest fan forever will be cricket itself!