Rahul Dravid, the batsman and a common man who works hard, struggles for his runs, but he never gives up. Every time he steps on the ground, he battles with himself more than opponent. From last 15 years, it has been pleasure to watch him in action on the cricket field. He has that serious, studious student look which gives clear impression about him that he is learner of this game for life.
I still remember his debut ODI match against Sri Lanka in Singapore when he walked into bat with that typical white hat which is rare these days. He struggled against Muralitharan and then walked back into pavilion after scoring 4 runs. That first impression of him gave me enough to say about him and I thought he is almost another Manjerkar , but he made it bigger than Manjerkar. It has been a constant argument back home with father and brother where I always favored Dravid more than Tendulkar and my father and brother are staunch Tendulkar fans. It has always been hard to convince them about Dravid. Well it doesn't end there, it has been the same case friends too. If Tendulkar fans are stubborn, then probably I have learned to remain as strong as WALL in supporting Dravid.
The question has always been asked to me , but I have never given any satisfactory answer to anyone or neither I feel like to give. Why am I so hard core Rahul Dravid fan? Probably here I will explain it better. Coming from a middle class family, I have always been taught to work hard and believe in simplicity of life. Probably that belief has led me to support Dravid strongly. On the other hand, Tendulkar is a genius, a rare breed. In this world, there are very few geniuses and Tendulkar is such a genius that it is hard for me to describe his talent. He has achieved everything in his life, that doesn't mean he hasn't worked hard or that also doesn't mean genius people don't work hard. Tendulkar might have worked harder than Dravid, but I feel he was bound to achieve what he has now. Life is no easy for anyone and it hasn't been for Tendulkar even, but when you see Tendulkar , you just realize how genius he is. We are lucky to witness him in our generation. So I can only dream of like Tendulkar, but it is not the same case with Dravid. Dravid is immensely talented, but he is not genius like Tendulkar. When I see Dravid, I see myself, a common man. Dravid is a common man who works hard, struggles for his dreams, but eventually achieves them. Dravid gives me that belief which I need to achieve greater things in life. Dravid has struggled, fought with his conditions, has made improvements in his game, played for the team eventually. Despite achieving so much success, still that man is away from limelight and still a common man.
15 years ago he made his debut against England in a test match and missed a century on debut. After 15 years he has remained center of Indian batting line up in test matches. That beautiful cover drive or that perfect straight drive makes wonder on everyone's eyes and make you fall in love with this beautiful game of cricket. His current inning of 112 against West Indies might not be fast paced, but he was never fast run scorer in test matches , but it has always a pleasure to watch his battle with opposing bowlers. He beats them first mentally and then physically. Technically he has remain as perfect as he can be, but the most important thing that he still considers himself student of this game and rates the game better than him. No game teaches you to be bigger than anything in life, it is you who have to keep the foot on ground.
Note - Picture has been taken from cricinfo.com.
