Rahul and I

It's hard to believe that the reason I started watching cricket 14 years ago is Rahul Dravid. The occasion was world cup tournament of 1999. While surfing through channels, I saw this young player playing spectacular cover drives and sweep shots. I remember praising him while discussing cricket with friends (I was always a rookie at these discussions) and they laughed. They said that this guy was the worst ODI player. They said that he was slow and he slowed down his team. I couldn’t believe them. I saw him hit a century with my own eyes. He was good. Moreover the fact that he also kept wickets just fuelled my liking for him. Something about him stuck; maybe it was his composed posture whenever he entered the ground, his confident and learning gaze when he faced the ball or silent fuming whenever he got out cheaply. I instantly felt connected to him.

At that time, for me, he was like that hip young relative who you admire with awe, as a child. Every little achievement of his was a big story for me. I tried to collect cut-outs of articles about him in newspapers. I used to listen to commentary on radio and my heart would swell with pride whenever the commentator praised Dravid’s game. I remember the time when I used to play EA Sports Cricket. It was a pretty easy game; you could hit fours and sixes on every ball. But I would get my openers out quickly (deliberately in the stupidest manners), bring out Dravid at No.3 and play steadily, run-per-ball. And I would remain not-out until the end. He was my favourite player.

And then he became more than just a player. The man has taught me a lot of things all these years; to believe in self, to put collective good of everyone ahead of your own, to take up challenges and most important of all, not to expect recognition for what you do. He was and still is the definition of cool for me. He became my favourite person in the world.

I always thought that he never got his due. It hurt when he was dropped unceremoniously from ODI squad. I hoped that he would sign off his career with a heroic knock. Sadly that never happened. I couldn’t sleep on the night before the day of announcement of his retirement from tests. I hoped he would change his mind at the last moment. I remember trying restlessly to find live feed of his retirement speech on internet. I couldn’t and then I heard his voice on speakers from a friend’s room across the building. I ran, I ran hard and barged in his room just in time. When the speech got over, feeling of emptiness engulfed me. The thought of never seeing him on field again was painful. This year’s Indian Premier League did bring some relief as he led his team from front. But I fear the day he decides to retire from it.

I believe the connection between me and Dravid goes beyond cricket. How else would you explain the uncontainable joy and pride in my heart when someone praises him? His achievements feel like my own. I feel he has shaped a part of me. Any nod to his accomplishments strengthens the pillars of my being.

That’s what Rahul Dravid is to me; not a hero that I worship but a brother who I look up to.