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Rahul Dravid: Needs backing from Kannadigas

 (An article acquainting the true-value of an immaculate cricketer from Karnataka)

Who is the most disciplined, hard-working, technically-correct, versatile or in simple - the most perfect cricketer today? The answer has to be Rahul Dravid. Most cricketers are gifted with their natural abilities, whereas this man has strived to get into the position he has attained now, through various rough patches. The beauty about Rahul Dravid is that, his career resembles that of any ordinary man endeavoring for success. His boy-next-door look has brought him closer towards the hearts of his fans. His simplicity is personified in his behavior.

“Technique” is the word that is scrupulously associated with Dravid through out his career. But, he is often censured for his slow strike-rate right through his career. Of course, he has weakness as any other human being. My question to the fellow cricket lovers is: Who is the most consistent performer for India in both forms of Cricket in the last 2 years or so???

Do we know that there is no cricketer like Dravid not only in the Indian team, but also in any other team today? He might have had tough time to even retain his place in the Indian team in the past, but isn’t he the most reliable cricketer today. Without him, it is certain that Indian team would badly loose the balance in both forms of the game in different ways.

If there were reasons for Dravid to be criticized (may be 2 years back), then it’s high time that this auspicious pearl gets the deserved accolades for his pristine performances now. We had enough culprits in the cricket-world. Dravid is one among the very few, who is clean & clear in this regard.

The only incident where Dravid was found guilty in misconduct was when; he was allegedly reported for ball-tampering in a recent ODI game against Zimbabwe. The beautiful Australian cameras were smart enough to slow-down the motion of the pictures, focusing only on Dravid’s hands and not his face when this happened. My theory for this incident is that, the whole event actually spanned for just about 3 seconds.

Dravid tried to keep the shine on the ball as usually most cricketers do. He might have completely unnoticed the sweet-jelly in his mouth and applied it on the ball (There is enough heat and pressure associated with even a charity cricket match. Cricket is just that kind of a game). At the most, he might have glanced at the jelly for a second and might have tried to wipe it off in another second.

It was not a blunder at all, as some of the Australian media and cricketers expounded. It was not even an honest mistake as our own media tried to compensate. But, it was just a silly elucidation by the Australian people, against which we could not protest properly, though we Indians have a great influence on the game of Cricket.

Of course, the people of other countries would definitely fancy to do such asinine things (it could be their culture). It so happened even with Sachin Tendulkar in South Africa. But then, Sachin at least got good backing from everyone back home. Why such a partiality to another great talent. I don’t think anybody in the media tried to back Rahul Dravid against the accusation, with enough care.

Though the incident did not become a big issue, it would still be the only black mark in Dravid’s career at the end of it, as he may hardly involve in such events anymore. So it is important to clear the matters, when they are still fresh. Otherwise, it might take different color in the future.

I’m not taking anything away from Sachin Tendulkar’s contribution to Indian cricket. He may be God to us. But everyone can’t be gifted like Sachin. Dravid is a human and can do only human-acts. Gods can only be in an imaginary world and do fancy-things which can attract respect & loyalty. But humans fight it out on the actual-real world and hence earn love & satisfaction. The monotony of praising just Sachin should change and the true MATCH-STABILIZING efforts of Dravid should be adored.

When an Innings from Dravid is viewed and analyzed, we can understand his workmanship. When he is concentrating before the ball is delivered, we can imagine ourselves in his shoes anticipating the missiles thrown by the fast bowlers. When he sways to a bouncer successfully, we can take a breather and relax. When he is hit on the body, we can feel the pain. When he defends the ball perfectly, we can sense the satisfaction. When he plays the most perfect drives or cuts, we can experience the joy. When he reaches a landmark, we can relish the delight. And when he plays the fluent ODI knocks as he is doing in the last 2 years, we can elate, having reached such an astonishing position, after years of hard work and tolerating criticisms all days.

Each of Dravid’s innings seems to have overshadowed by other’s efforts. But one should understand that, it is he who is the common figure and has an unique role in every combined-effort. Hence he is the most consistent performer and a perfect team-man.

His career, his innings or his feelings can easily be understood by not just any cricketer, but also by a common man. If we can’t admire Dravid, then we can never understand our self-esteem. True Cricket-Lovers would always treat Dravid as a great cricketer and as a great human being.

The following passage is exclusively for Kannadigas

This unsung hero from Bangalore is the precious gem of our land and people. Though Dravid is not a Kannadiga from his roots or background, we should accept him as our wealth. There is blame on Dravid, (This time for non-cricketing reasons) that he doesn’t speak Kannada or doesn’t bother about native-culture. But, do these people know that Dravid actually communicates in Kannada with his mates in the Karnataka-Ranji team.

First, these people should try & create a congenial environment for Kannada and change the so-called Cosmopolitan-buzz in Bangalore. For Rahul Dravid to look more like a Kannadiga there is a serious urgency to create huge fan-clubs all over Karnataka and support him like a hell. If Dravid starts thinking about Kannadigas and Karnataka, then we can expect some remarkable works from him in this regard, knowing the kind of person he is and the sort of influence he has on the society.

Kannadigas need to back Dravid, especially when the whole country is not fully with him. The fellow Tamilians (Dravidians) are also not totally supportive to him, even though he is ethnically derived from them. So, it is high time that Kannadigas immediately start backing Dravid, before someone else grabs him, as and when he retires from cricket. There is every reason for us to support such a personality. Our land needs him to remain as the role-model for our future generation too.

 Somashekar T
Bangalore
somashekart@yahoo.com

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