It was the summer of 97.I had bought 6 posters of Dravid from a street vendor after going through a pile that had tens of posters of Sachin, Azhar and Jadeja but very few of Rahul. After contemplating for a fair amount of time, I pasted these on the walls of my room. Wow, the sight amazed me. As a teenage school kid, I was thrilled to see my idol's pictures around me. Not for long did my happiness last , as Dad was furious by my act of 'defacing' the walls. Down came the posters and then tucked into my book shelf. I was disappointed. But I thought, it didn't matter if I couldn't put those pictures on the wall, I would always be devoted to my idol. Rarely does a school kid's wish hold good for years.
More than a decade had passed by. The media reported yesterday of a BCCI press release informing about a press conference to be attended by Rahul Dravid and BCCI president Srinivasan. I wondered if it could be anything else under the sun but his retirement. Nothing else made sense. It had to be the inevitable. I shed a tear! My heart cringed at the thought of looking at an Indian test batting line up sans Dravid. It was going to be a matter of fact soon.
A lot happened between these two events. What started as a teenage obsession grew into something big. Something that made me feel that he was bigger than the game of cricket for me. May be I was wrong or may be not. I stopped thinking about it.
It all started with the newspaper articles highlighting the efforts of a young batsmen who scored back to back centuries in the semis and then the finals to help Karnataka win the Ranji trophy after a gap of 13 years. I was curious. The articles shouted out loud that this batsman was not in the mould of the superstar cricketers who were representing the country that time. My curiosity increased and I dug up a few articles that had focused on the Karnataka team earlier that season. I was impressed!
The test debut cemented my impression and as the cliche goes - the rest is history. Over the years, he has given me and rest of the countless fans a lot of glorious moments to celebrate and cherish. As I write these words, a lot of those moments flash before my eyes. Tough to forget the innings like that 1st day gritty batting at Headingley, the double century at Adelaide, crucial twin 50s at Kingston(he had the top 2 scores in that match that saw both the teams get bowled out in both the innings), majestic double century at Rawalpindi and last but not the least when he and VVS showed the holy finger to Australia in Kolkata.
I practiced to have his stance whenever I held a bat in my hand. Sometimes even without it. I always wanted to play those straight drives, cover drives,on drives, leg glances and square cuts. I've always wanted to focus hard on my objectives and persist giving my best. Have I succeeded in doing any of these correctly ? I don't know! Frankly, I don't care. I'm just happy that I've tried to be like him and that is something that gives me immense satisfaction.
In a country obsessed with stars, why is Dravid different from so many others ? For me, it was the non-flashy, unassuming and elegant persona of his that showed his real self. Like many others, I looked up to him as he was a personification of the fact that natural talent need not take precedence over hard work and determination. Nothing seems impossible and improbable if one shows perseverance and patience.
I may not watch international cricket with the same level of devotion again. But, I will always pray and hope that the next time when the scorecard says 10/1 or 20/1 and a batsman walks out of the pavillion to the ground, he has at least half the focus and fortitude Rahul Dravid had! The future of Indian cricket will be in safe hands then!
