Goodbye Dravid

It is not everyday when a good player leaves the game and as some people have written leaving the game richer with their legacy!

I am not a journalist who can go gaga over unnatural talents and definitely not a statistician who remembers every record on book. But then again, Dravid needs neither! That was the beauty about him. He was not really the chest thumping, fist clenching player and I cannot recall when he has ever played for his personal record.

One can pick any page out of his cricketing career and will (unsurprisingly) not notice vile or arrogance or a supremacist attitude. He had a way of making his batting speak for himself. Whenever he stepped on to the pitch, the aura about him was nothing but pure commitment – to the team and more so to the game itself!

His specialty on the game may have been his beautiful drives, but to me it was always off the field that he excelled even more – by staying off the limelight. So when someone talks about Rahul Dravid all that would be discussed is the cricketer and not any histrionics or late night parties!

There was simply too much of “team” within him and his career is a proof of it. The stats speak for themselves and memories of marathon innings, solid defense (most needed in the game nowadays), quick singles, sweaty palms are more than enough to put to rest any arguments that might ever arise.

His genuineness and timing was what defined him. That’s what sets him apart during the day he has decided to hang up his boots. He came to define what a dignified cricketer means, and he has definitely left a mark in the world of cricket. Well done sir and thanks for the good memories!