Rahul Dravid: Indian cricket's Best Man

It is said that the “best man” should never look better than the groom on his wedding day. And if there is one person who played the role of the best man to perfection on a cricket field, then it has to be Rahul Dravid.

While the role of the groom rotated between Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag among others; the best man was always constant. Be it during Laxman’s epic of 281 at Kolkata, Sehwag’s 254 at Lahore or Ganguly’s maiden test century at Lords; Dravid was always there quietly manning the other end.

He was slowly doing his job in the most nonchalant way without trying to steal the thunder. In all these three innings (and many more) he was the second highest scorer in the Indian innings and played an important role in the eventual result. But like a true “best man” he ensured that he did not look better than the groom.

Numbers which don’t lie

It is a credit to the man, that in spite of having played second fiddle for most of his career he scored more than 13000 Test runs at an average of 52.31 and is remembered as one of the best batsmen to have ever played for India.

Even more heartening is the fact that he scored more than 10,000 ODI runs at an average close to 40. And I say this because the same Dravid was once considered too slow to play One-Day cricket. He defied his critics and today has his name in the top ten all time run-getters in One-day internationals.

He is also the fourth highest all-time run-scorer in Tests and holds the record for the maximum number of catches (210 catches in 164 Tests) taken in test matches. But all these were achieved with a sense of dignity and in the absence of any hoopla.

Good and nice

A man for all occasions

“The Nice Guy Who Finished First” is the name of Dravid’s biography and it sums up his career without the use of unnecessary metaphors; much like his batting. Indeed, good and nice are the words that one associates with Dravid. Throughout his playing days, he was always there for the team. Whether the team needed an opener in Tests or a wicket-keeper batsman in ODIs; Dravid was India’s go-to man.

Yes, sometimes he did make his opinion public; like he had said in an interview to Sportstar in 1997, “Opening the innings is a specialist’s job, I am basically a middle-order batsman and that’s where I would like to stay.” But this never meant that he refused to open the batting.

For the records, he opened in 14 Test matches at an average of just above 40. In fact along with Sehwag, he notched up 410 runs for the first wicket against Pakistan at Lahore in 2006. It is the third highest opening partnership ever in test match cricket.

“I have failed at times, but I never stopped trying”

He had once said, “I have failed at times, but I never stopped trying”. He never did stop trying and was successful more often than not. When the T20s came to the fore, he changed his batting style to suit the format. For a man known for his impeccable technique, he even tried his hands at slogging in T20s. When his T20 career ended with a slog, Harsha Bhogle had said; “For a career full of grace, charm, timing and poise, it was sad that it had to end with a slog. But, that was once again, what the team just needed.”

Dravid was a team man throughout his career and he did firmly believe in Rudyard Kipling’s famous saying, “For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.” He probably spent his entire career playing for the pack.

Coaches the Under-19 & ‘A’ team away from the limelight

Even today, he is doing what he does best; allowing others to be in the limelight and quietly working for the betterment of Indian cricket. So, while his former teammate Anil Kumble is coaching the Indian national team, he is happy to coach the National Under-19 & India ‘A’ team.

Very few doubt whether there would a better man to nurture the future stars of Indian cricket. These youngsters will do themselves a favour if they are able to take a leaf out of Dravid’s book of batting. His technique was second to none and it was one of the prime reasons for his overseas success. He is one of the few players who had a better away record.

“The Wall” for a reason

Rahul Dravid’s immaculate technique was the key to his success

Commenting on Dravid’s technique, Gavaskar had said, “He succeeds overseas because he plays the ball late.” Mr Gavaskar was spot on, watching Dravid bat, one never got a sense that he was in a hurry. Instead, his presence in the middle had a calming effect both on the dressing room and the spectators. His insurmountable defence earned him the nickname “The Wall”.

I remember during a Test match against West Indies at Port of Spain in 1997, when opener Navjot Singh Sidhu was nearing a double hundred and Dravid was batting on 50; my father had told me, “although Sidhu is nearing a double hundred; it is Dravid who is looking as solid as though he would never get out”.

And as the nice guy - Dravid celebrates his 44th birthday today, I just hope that he never gets out of Indian cricket and continues being the “best man” for generations of cricketers to come.