RAHUL DRAVID.....THE REAL LEGEND !


Rahul Dravid ...The real legend !

This may sound funny but I find remarkable similarity in Rahul Dravid and  Aasha Bhosale in their respective fields !  Aasha  Bhosale who is considered the second  best female singer all through her career never made an attempt to become like Lata . She never competed with Lata the great, and gracefully  accepted her sister's number one position. She then  went on giving her own best in every song she has sung and has become the legend. 

Our man Rahul Dravid has done the same thing  in his field !  

He never competed with Sachin Tendulkar who was his teammate but remaining in his shadow he focussed on improving his own abilities and was not only acclaimed by his teammates but by  every opposition team.

Though there is very narrow difference in the abilities of the persons  who is first and who is second ,the world is cruel in making huge difference in rewarding them.This is evident from the values of GOLD and silver. The "first" position is really majestic and all over the world in every field it has tremendous importance.  The first person to step on the moon is remembered by  almost all  but how many can tell who was the second person ?There are different types of persons on second positions in different fields.Some accept the better qualities of the top ranking person and gracefully keep trying to do their best without any malice while some other use all sorts of things to dislodge the top person believing everything is fair in love and war .Those who precisely knew why they are second and keep working hard may or may not achieve top rank but they certainly win the hearts of thousands of people for their attitude and immaculate skill which is almost equal to the skill of the top person.

In the best "second " category Rahul Dravid is certainly the first !

In the glorious days of cricket when Sachin and Rahul were active, people had firm belief that  "if Sachin can't Rahul will ".  Sachin certainly knew this and it has helped him a lot  to play more freely.The first little master   Sunil Gavaskar  didnot enjoy that privilege.

Rahul frustrated  every baller  he faced because he had a solid defence .This superb technic  earned Dravid  the title "THE WALL"  in Australia .Australian team used to believe that there is no point in trying to take Rahul Dravid's wicket, instead it is better to take wickets from other  end. Whenever Rahul was involved in any long partnership, on the most occasions other partner used to get out and Rahul used to be still there. In those unforgettable  partnerships  with VVS Laxman of over 300 runs Rahul stood like the wall  and on both occasions Laxman was dismissed first while our Hero remained unconquered !. True it is that  Sachin had more varieties of shots and used to delight spectators while Rahul was far more accurate in whichever shots he had mastered  so much that Sachin became his  one of the greatest admirers.  In fact Sachin has openly stated that Rahul was the role model for all the teammates including him. Rahul was always considered  the best  in supporting role and even in that famous match winning inning after India followed on in Calcutta ,Dravid  supported  VVS Lakshman and preferred to be in his shadow.For  that marathon partnership VVS got more fame but Rahul's  contribution  was equally important.   . Rahul was different and instead of competing with the top ranking person  he always focused   on giving his best ...the result was the best man Sachin  wanted to follow him and wanted to become like him.Sachin indeed played one inning like Rahul  on Australian soil when Rahul was captain but lost his cool when the inning was declared ! 

One doesn't want to state any records but ln the history of the world cricket Dravid has spent more time in the middle and has faced highest number of deliveries than any other cricketer . Rahul Dravid also has record of involving in maximum number of century partnerships  be it a test match cricket or ODI cricket. This clearly shows that he always played cricket as a team  game unlike many greats who had perhaps more interest in their  individual records. He was the deputy of Saurav Ganguly's  "all time best Indian cricket team" and had more contribution in making his team the best. In ODI there used to be question mark on his inclusion in the team in many spectators' minds who loved more exciting actions. Soon they started understanding the importance of Rahul who on several occasions either helped India win or set up a formidable target to opponents and gave  the fair  chance to our ballers. He is  the only  Indian after Sachin to have scored more than 10000 runs in tests and ODI formats of the game. He perhaps learned from Kapil Dev the  importance of remaining physically fit which helped him to be always alert and agile ,the result was he has taken highest number of catches in the test cricket as a fielder other than wicket keeper. Rahul  was never a baller but he indeed smartly played as a wicket keeper in the ODI  world cup as another great MS Dhoni was still to be discovered. Rahul Dravid was lucky to get chance to stage his debute at Lords but was unlucky to miss century there  and was out in nervous ninties.

Above all Dravid  is perhaps the most non controversial person on and off the field. His behavior is like a thorough gentleman .He was conferred  the second best padma award " Padma Vibhushan " and here again destiny ensured that he will be second as Sachin  was later  awarded "Bharat Ratna". Shy by nature ,Rahul may not be in lime light now but he is still  contributing quietly and giving his best. He is mentor and coach to several young cricketers who are lucky to get his guidance .
Considering today's political situation the only thing I dont like about Dravid is his name is Rahul ! There cannot be another Sachin only because he  will not have the company of another Rahul Dravid !
Like thousands of cricket lovers across the globe  I consider Rahul Dravid is  the real legend ! 
   _____Rajendra Phansalkar
                22 nd Feb 2020

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