These are not great times for the seniors in the Indian team. Each and every action of theirs is questioned. Their achievements are ignored. Not a day passes by without debating about their place in the side. Rahul Dravid is no exception. The number of matches that he has turned around for India are forgotten. His great knocks are things of the past.
Amidst all this high pressure, Dravid chose another occasion to prove himself yet again (actually he has nothing to prove to anyone except to himself). The wall entered an elite club. He is one of the very few to cross 10000 runs. Dravid is one of the most unsung heroes of Indian cricket. His achievements have been over shadowed by his team mates. Even when he plays a huge knock, he doesn’t get much of the credit.
One of those instances is when Laxman notched up the legendary 281 against the Aussies. Dravid played a tremendous knock in that match. Unfortunately it was Laxman’s name that lasted. There are many such instances when he played along with Sachin, Sourav and recently with Sehwag. This time his century knock was over shadowed by Sehwag’s triple ton. True this century was not his best. He has not been in the best of form lately. The wall has developed some cracks.
But no one can deny that he was a team man to the core. He always took added responsibilities. Doubling up as keeper during the 2003 World Cup was a crucial role which helped restore balance to the team. He was ready to open the innings in test matches even as two of the greatest openers ever were hesitant to move up from the middle order. He shuffled himself up and down the batting order in ODIs for the team’s cause. This eventually left him unsettled and contributed to his downfall in ODIs. But amidst all that he never once complained. He faced critics with unflinching courage and continues to do so.
The man definitely deserves praise. But have we given him his due?
Amidst all this high pressure, Dravid chose another occasion to prove himself yet again (actually he has nothing to prove to anyone except to himself). The wall entered an elite club. He is one of the very few to cross 10000 runs. Dravid is one of the most unsung heroes of Indian cricket. His achievements have been over shadowed by his team mates. Even when he plays a huge knock, he doesn’t get much of the credit.
One of those instances is when Laxman notched up the legendary 281 against the Aussies. Dravid played a tremendous knock in that match. Unfortunately it was Laxman’s name that lasted. There are many such instances when he played along with Sachin, Sourav and recently with Sehwag. This time his century knock was over shadowed by Sehwag’s triple ton. True this century was not his best. He has not been in the best of form lately. The wall has developed some cracks.
But no one can deny that he was a team man to the core. He always took added responsibilities. Doubling up as keeper during the 2003 World Cup was a crucial role which helped restore balance to the team. He was ready to open the innings in test matches even as two of the greatest openers ever were hesitant to move up from the middle order. He shuffled himself up and down the batting order in ODIs for the team’s cause. This eventually left him unsettled and contributed to his downfall in ODIs. But amidst all that he never once complained. He faced critics with unflinching courage and continues to do so.
The man definitely deserves praise. But have we given him his due?
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