From Dravid to Mahi

Cricket has been my passion since childhood. It didnt matter whether India was playing or not; if it was cricket I had to watch it. Though I hardly remember when I saw the first match, I would safely assume I started watching cricket on TV from 1989. Way back then, I did not know anything about cricket, like why people would chase the cricket balls. When India were playing Australia and the bulky David Boon would hit the Indian bowlers to every corner of the ground , I would wonder why were Indians made to run to boundaries every other ball like they had been punished. I was really thrilled when Pakistan won the World Cup 92 as it had come back to Asia after 1983. I believe I became a supreme follower of cricket from 1992 onwards.

Thinking about Indian players or legends as one may call them, Dravid and Kumble always rank top in my list. When you talk of favourites there are a few others-Md Azharuddin, Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting and Matthew Hayden.

As I have already stated, for me Dravid and Kumble have always been a class apart. Speaking about Kumble , how can one forget his daredevil act against WI when he came out to bowl even with a broken jaw and took the prized wicket of magnificent Lara. He truly was commitment personified.

Coming to Dravid, my favourite cricketer who has lately been replaced by Dhoni (Mahi). He always has been the cornerstone of the Indian Cricket team. Right from making his debut against England way back in the summers of 1997 till even recently, when Indians were thrashed on English soil, Dravid has stamped his authority and declared that he indeed is a legend. He was unfortunate enough to be born in an era where cricket fans were far too obsessed with the Master Blaster.

Having said that , this doesn’t take away his contribution to Indian cricket. When you search the records , you will find more often than not, Dravid has performed exceptionally well overseas, a record which even Tendulkar can’t boast of. His tenacity,dedication,concentration and hard work has truly earned him the enviable tag of “Mr Dependable” or “The Wall”, for he is rock solid in defence . A complete batsman with almost every shot that one could find in the cricket manual.Whenever he comes upon the crease, he brings a certain sense of calmness. Owing to his solid technique, he is comfortable against a swinging ball or the spinning one. He is a complete gentlemen who would rarely show his emotions.

I feel it was really a sad day for Indian cricket when he gave up his captaincy in all forms of the game. What made him take such a big decision will still be a puzzle. Even more appalling was to drop him from the ODI squad owing to fitness issues as Dhoni and the selectors wanted a young team, for I never have seen a cricketer more fitter than Dravid. A true team man who even donned the role of a wicket-keeper batsman when the team required him to do so.

Dravid truly has been one of the greatest batsmen that India has ever produced.

I will now move on to M.S. Dhoni(Mahi).

Speaking about Dhoni,I am reminded of a guy from a small town of Ranchi who, as in the words of a famous commercial “has truly made it large”.

From working in Indian Railways as a ticket checker in Kharagpur (known only for its IIT) to leading the Indian Cricket team to the World Cup crown after 27 years, Dhoni has come a long way. Mahi (as Dhoni is fondly called by his friends) is from the town of Ranchi, capital of Jharkhand. He completed his schooling from the famous DAV, Shymali. Initially, he started as a goalkeeper for his school team but soon switched to cricket on advice of his football coach.

Dhoni first came into reckoning when he performed superbly for India A team on the tour of Kenya way back in 2004. His consistent performance in domestic matches and for India A finally earned him a call to play for India. The rest, as they say, is history. I strongly believe if he were from cricketing states like Mumbai or Gujarat(which rule the roost in BCCI selection), he would have made his debut much before 2004.

Now coming to my point of considering him to be my favourite cricketer after Dravid. No doubt, he is no match to Dravid’s class; but he has a class of his own. His totally unorthodox shots have earned him the reputation . His favourite “helicopter shot” is truly effective against the yorker length ball. Even Sachin has used it repeatedly in the IPL matches.

If Dravid provides calmness in the dressing room when he come out to bat in the middle, Dhoni when at his destructive best, can destroy any attack in the world. He can clear grounds at will, even against the likes of Steyn and Akthar. Dravid provides solidarity to the middle order and anchors the innings while holding on to one end, Dhoni can accelerate the run-rate at will.

This was the foremost reason I never liked the decision of dropping Dravid from the ODI squad as we always had Dhoni down the order to explode. Hence, we required someone at the top to anchor and build the innings. Having said that, fortunately India has never missed Dravid and remained in the top 3 for the last couple of years in the ODI format.

Though Dravid and Dhoni might differ in their approach, when it comes to batting but both are very cool headed and rarely vent out their emotions in public.The last time I saw Dhoni scream with joy was during the IPL2, when he single handedly won the match for CSK against Punjab. When it comes to Dravid, how can one forget that scene of Dravid jumping like a kid after scoring his century at Lords.

Both of them are great cricketers and really humble human beings. When it comes to leadership skills, Mahi definitely scores above Dravid. Even the great Sachin has publicly accepted that he is one of the best captains that he has ever played under, which is really a great compliment. Dhoni, as a captain has simply been a class apart. He has several titles against his name i.e. IPL, Champions League and the biggest of them all, the World Cup.

He has led the Indian team to No.1 spot in all the three formats which truly speaks of his quality and commitment. I am really disappointed when people/critics around bestow his success to plain luck or he is lucky to have great team with him. I am a strong believer in the philosophy “luck favours the brave” and as Dhoni has braved the storm throughout his career, he deserves all the success. Moreover, you can be lucky once or twice and not every time.

I truly admire the commitment he has shown on the cricket field. He has often been criticized for curbing his attacking instincts. People love and admire the old Dhoni who would come down and just go for his shots. I am happy that he has curbed his attacking instincts for the good, for after the departure of Dravid from the ODIs, we hardly had anyone in the middle order to anchor or build the innings. This has been provided by Captain Cool. He doesn’t have the solid technique that you attribute to the likes of Dravid or Sachin but still he is far more than effective. As he has already stated out quite blatantly that he doesn’t play for the crowds, but to win. He has always backed his team and even chips were down, he has never lost his cool.

If you blame the captain for the losses , you got to give him credit for the success too.

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Edited by Staff Editor