Dravid talks about not being obliged to be perfect always

Re-imagining Mr. Perfect

In a recent interview with The HINDU, Rahul Dravid admitted losing his cool a number of times on the field. His comment was in response to the latest events where he was seen getting better of Naseer Hussain during a friendly chit chat in the commentary box. That became a viral sensation, instantly.

Had it been some other player, it would not have got much attention, but coming from the proverbial Mr.Nice Guy, that was something. Also, another video of him confronting Shoaib Akhter surfaced recently. It seems that even Mr. Perfect was not bereft of aggression.

“I know a lot of that happens when you’re in the public eye, everyone’s scrutinising and critiquing you. There have been times when I’ve lost my cool on the field, which has been a few. That has happened. And that’s part of being a sportsman for 20 years, there are going to be times when I lose it. There will be times when I might get upset and might not do the right thing; it’s all a journey that I’m on and I don’t feel obliged to try and be perfect all the time,” as reported in the Newspaper.

On his image of being a role-model sportsperson, his answer was a typical Dravidian modest, non-assuming one. “I didn’t go out honestly to try and be a role model. I grew up wanting to play sport and so I didn’t really see any pressure in trying to live up to an image. I’ve just been fortunate enough to play the game and by playing the game well, I guess I realised that the popularity of the game means that a lot of people follow you and what you do.” as reported by The Hindu.

Dravid may not have got his due, playing along with the trio of Sachin, Ganguly and Laxman, but he kept on holding his fort against all the negatives, including being labelled as a tuk-tuk batsman. Much has been written since his retirement, about his phenomenal grit and patience.

He was much venerated for his decision to take reins of the U-19 team, rather getting inducted as the member of BCCI council as his other peers were. On being asked about the change in his lifestyle post-retirement, he remarked to the newspaper,“I spend a lot more time now at home than I used to. I still do travel a lot more than other people but compared to what I used to, I’m at home a lot more now and enjoy that. Which makes it more and more difficult to travel now.”

With heaps of accolades coming his way from social media and other quarters, Dravid feigned a surprised look. Well, that’s expected from the “The Wall”.