One of the world’s greatest batsmen and also one of its finest gentlemen is leaving the game — much to the chagrin of his teammates and opponents who held him in high esteem.
Rahul Dravid, who would have been India’s finest batsman had it not been for Sachin Tendulkar, has bowed out after 17 years. The elegant batsman, who was a joy to watch, will be best remembered for his rock-like concentration that earned him the nickname of ‘The Great Wall of India.’ The 39-year-old became the first batsman to score centuries in each of the 10 Test-playing nations and he carved out 13,288 Test runs, second only behind Tendulkar. Dravid also shared a world-record 19 Test century partnerships with his great teammate. He is the second of the golden generation of Indian batsmen to retire following in the footsteps of Saurav Ganguly, leaving Tendulkar and VVS Laxman at the crease. At the press conference in his hometown of Bangalore, he recalled of his childhood dream he shared with millions of Indians.
“Once I was like every other boy in India, with a dream of playing for my country. Yet I could never have imagined a journey so long and so fulfilling. I have had a wonderful time, but now it is time for a new generation of young players to make their own history and take the Indian cricket team even further.’’
Indian legends Sunil Gavaskar and Tendulkar were among the hundreds of former Test players and officials who paid tribute to Dravid.
“There was and is only one Rahul Dravid,” said Tendulkar. “There can be no other. I will miss Rahul in the dressing room and out in the middle.’’
Gavaskar added: “On and off the field, he was a terrific role model to youngsters with his work ethic, the way he carried himself and applied himself. He was the guy youngsters in the dressing room looked up to.’’
Aussie star Shane Watson added Dravid will be missed.
“He is probably the nicest guy, no, he is the nicest guy that I’ve met in cricket. He’s a phenomenal man. He loves the game with so much passion; it’s in his blood and in his heart. He is certainly going to be sorely missed by the Indian public and the cricket-loving public as well.”
VICIOUS SHOT, MATE
Here we go again. Former cricketer stars are making it a habit of taking shots at former teammates and teams to drum up sales for their books. Well, that’s fine, but I believe Australian batsman Greg Chappell overstepped the line during a promotional tour for his book Fierce Focus which was released a few days following India’s disastrous tour of Australia.
He ruffled more than a few feathers by taking a vicious swipe at Indian culture and the team. Most Indian critics decided it wasn’t worth a response considering the source. Chappell was booted out after two turbulent years as India’s national coach and, his stay as a selector of Australia’s team, was also short lived. That tells you something about the man.
“The (Indian) culture is very different; it’s not a team culture. They lack leaders in the team because they are not trained to be leaders. From an early age, their parents make all the decisions, their school teachers make their decisions, their cricket coaches make the decisions,’’ Chappell said.
“The Poms (British) taught them really well to keep their head down. For if someone was deemed to be responsible, they’d get punished. So the Indians have learned to avoid responsibility. So before taking responsibility for any decisions, they prefer not to.’’ But he compliments skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni who he says is an exception to the rule. Indians have a great opportunity to hit back at Chappell where it hurts most — by boycotting the book en masse.
WATCH SRI LANKA
After 11 months of slumming near the bottom of one-day international cricket, Sri Lanka is back with a bang. The islanders gave the rampant Australians a tough fight in the three-match tri-series final before going down by a mere 16 runs in the decider in Adelaide. Their top-order batsmen were more than a match for the vaunted Australian pace attack with Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, Upul Tharanga and new find Dinesh Chandimal all scoring at will. On the basis of their strong showing Down Under, Sri Lanka should be the team to watch in the four-nation Asian Cup that starts in Bangladesh today. But bookmaker Sky Bet has installed India as 13-8 favourite to win despite its recent horrendous tour Down Under. Pakistan is quoted at 7-4, Sri Lanka 2-1 and Bangladesh 33-1.
As one would expect, the focus will again be on Tendulkar. Will he or won’t he finally get that elusive 100th international century after being shut out on tours of England and Australia and by the West Indies? It will be a year later this month when he last scored a century and came in a World Cup game against South Africa in Nagpur. Pakistan, meanwhile, will have Aussie Dav Whatmore make his debut as its national coach.
SOUTH AFRICA HAS EDGE
New Zealand made a spirited reply as it chases a near-impossible task of scoring 401 to beat South Africa on the final day in the first Test at Dunedin. The home team reached 137 for two with Ross Taylor (48) and Brendon McCullum (58) at the crease. South Africa mad 238 and 435 for five declared after the Kiwis had posted 273 in their first knock. South Africa had three centurions in its second innings with skipper Graeme Smith making 115, Jacques Kallis 113 and Jacques Rudolph 105.
AUSSIES A TIRED BUNCH
The Australians are one tired bunch as they enter the final lap of what has been a long eight-month schedule that saw the team tour Sri Lanka, South Africa and then return home for competition against New Zealand, India and Sti Lanka. The squad arrived in the West Indies barely 12 hours after defeating Sri Lanka in Adelaide without skipper Michael Clarke who was ruled out of the first part of the tour with a hamstring injury.
Shane Watson will lead the team in Clarke’s absence in the first five ODIs and two T20 matches over a tight 15-day schedule. Aussies are hoping Clarke will return for the Test series beginning April 7.
“There’s no doubt there’s some guys that have played the whole summer who are going to be a little bit tired,” Watson said. “But in the end, that’s part and parcel of playing international cricket.’’ ... Condolences are pouring in for Runako Morton who was killed in a car accident in Trinidad. The 33-year-old Morton played 15 Tests (573 runs) and 56 ODIs (1,519 runs) for the Windies.
