Why Rahul Dravid deserves to win Champions League T20

Rahul Dravid: The last hurrah?

It will be the last time when we will see Rahul Dravid walking out and taking the field. This guy has achieved so much in his career. A man who has been open to any form of challenge, which has been thrown to him, be it keeping wickets for his side or donning the opener’s role. He certainly deserves this CLT20 title to his credit. And why not, he is the one who has kept his team aloft of all the mud-slinging controversies that shaped up earlier this year.

Rajasthan Royals were at the receiving end with their cricketers being convicted as tainted. Rahul has always been a cricketer who the world calls as a ‘gentleman’. He has been the most selfless cricketer, this world has ever seen. This guy never had any demands. He has adjusted according to the needs of his team. His strict routine has allowed him to compete even at the age of 40 and he has been doing it really well.

Rajasthan Royals have blossomed under his captaincy. This has been a team which has never had big names in their side. Guys like Kevon Cooper, Stuart Binny, Pravin Tambe, Sanju Samson belong to the lesser known breed of cricketers. But Rahul has extracted the best out of these guys and has made RR a formidable side.

Pravin Tambe, at an age of 42, having only played cricket at club level, has come out and fired all guns blazing. He has made some of the best batsmen in the world dance to his tunes. Who else in the world except for Dravid would have shown so much confidence in a guy like Tambe? Sanju Samson, the rising star from Kerala, has played some of the best knocks for RR in the IPL and in the CLT20 tournament. Dravid’s captaincy has been brilliant. He has shielded an out of form Watson from the new ball by promoting himself up the order. Stuart Binny’s career was going nowhere after his stint with the rebel Indian Cricket league. But the way this lad has flowered under Dravid’s captaincy is exemplerary.

Who would imagine that a team like RR would have qualified for the champions league T20 final with guys like Rahul Shukla, Samson and Tambe coming to the rescue. After all the that has transpired since this year’s IPL, RR truly deserve to be the champions. Only one man could be credited for RR’s performance this year and that has to be Rahul Dravid. He is one of the best readers of the game in the world. A selfless guy who was initially written off by the critics, since they found him to be a slow starter in the shorter format of the game. And today Rahul is leading a young RR side in the finals of a tournament where the best T20 teams from the world compete for the glory. All this at the age of 40, what an irony?

The curse of being Rahul Dravid is that he has always had Sachin Tendulkar in his side who has overshadowed the performances of his contemporaries. And even today the buzz is that, Sachin will be playing his last T20.

This dashing lad from Karnataka has made girls fall for him right from the start of his career. A brilliant fielder, the most perfect temperament, a leader who has always led by example and the list goes on and on. Rahul truly deserves this trophy on the last day of his career.