World Cup to Champions League T20: It's '#Alwaysfor10dulkar'

Tendulkar and Dravid: Two sides of one coin

That’s where, over the years, the cynicism towards Tendulkar had kicked in and we started to identify more with the symbol of hard work, Rahul Dravid.

Rahul Dravid put forward a meticulous method of achieving greatness. He presented the youth with an industrious and a hardworking approach that demanded putting in hours and hours of dogged determination and dedication.

His willingness to work on his weaknesses with extreme patience and his unwavering grit showed that if one really wants to improve, they can, even if they are not showered with limitless talent. Dravid provided with an example of a common man who reached the pinnacles of success through resolve and perseverance – someone who fought everyday to prove his worth, only to be overshadowed by a super-talented genius.

His toil was the perfect answer to Tendulkar’s flamboyance – that’s why the hardworking middle class of India roots for Dravid, because they find hope in his achievements and somewhere they think that his path is the one that might lead us to glory as well.

However, something that the Indian cricket loving public never realized that both Dravid and Tendulkar were assigned different jobs while playing for the Indian cricket team, especially in the Tests.

Tendulkar played the role of the aggressor and was expected to score the big runs to hand the team the initiative, while Dravid was always there to make sure that India wouldn’t lose. If Tendulkar was the weapon for destroying the opposition, Dravid was the shield that absorbed the shocks.

And they both played their roles to perfection.

The best example of these two essaying their role perfectly was during the memorable Test victory at Headingley against England in 2002. Dravid, along with Sanjay Bangar, dug in the heels and fended off the dangerous trio of Hoggard, Caddick and Flintoff with a crafty 148. Then Tendulkar blasted a masterful 193 along with Sourav Ganguly in the fading Yorkshire light.

Whose innings was better?

For some it was Dravid’s meticulousness, for the rest it was Tendulkar’s belligerence. But then again, such is the Indian psychology. We love hoisting our personal favourites by pulling down and mocking others.

And that’s exactly what happened during the Champions League T20 finals. While empathising with the craftsman, a few of us became scornful towards the artist who has relentlessly served the nation with his mastery and has piled up an unassailable mountain of runs. Make no mistake, every single of those runs were added to the teams he played for and not to some secret Swiss bank account of his own.

Neither Dravid nor Tendulkar scored many in this tournament, but their presence is what mattered. If Rahul Dravid inspired a scandal-hit Royals to put on a grand show, a simple hashtag of #thistimefor10dulkar was enough for the Mumbai Indians to lift the trophy.

And it wasn’t the first time, Team India did it in 2011 for their Sachin Paaji .

Both have scaled great heights in the game, and have done it consistently to earn the right of being called greats. But the comparisons should stop there and here’s why.

When comparing both, people often say that Dravid was always there when India needed him. True to the core, but what they forget is that when Tendulkar is there, there’s never a need because till that five feet someone is out there, hope is there.

And like it or not, the biggest difference between Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid is that we ‘needed’ Dravid to come good but we always ‘wanted’ Tendulkar to excel.

Yes, Tendulkar didn’t do the “noble” thing of retiring on a high and has hung around for a bit too long. Perhaps he has been selfish and perhaps his records haven’t won India anything, but try reasoning all that with a failed engineer, who gave up his handsome salary package and a comfortable job because it didn’t allow him to watch Tendulkar bat.

Dravid was and will always be for the sane-minded but for maniacs like those its #Alwaysfor10dulkar because with Him, reasons just don’t figure into it.