Rahul Dravid

The greatest players have defining moments for the career, defining innings that headline their body of work. Lara's 153, Sachin's sandstorms, Ponting's WC hundred, Gavaskar's double to fashion a 404 chase

Dravid has several innings that could contend to be the defining inning. But simply an inning - even though it be of the highest quality possible like Adelaide or Headingley or Kolkatta or even Jamaica - cannot begin to describe Rahul Dravid the player.

For me Rahul's greatness lay not only in his batsmanship - it lay in the fact that he gave it his all, all the time. His defining moment is not in the fact that he had emotional tears in his eyes as he hit the winning runs at Adelaide in the second inning after a monumental double ton in the first. Its not in the fact that he weathered treacherous batting conditions to set up a victory at Headingley. Its in the fact that he thought not twice before donning the gloves for his team or to open the innings when he could have refused.

And hence my defining moment for Dravid is the English series. Lone man standing. Keeping Wickets in Test Match. Opening Batting because we refused to carry backup openers. Carrying his bat through an inning and stepping out to open the inning again, following on.

The numbers will speak enough both about his greatness as a test batsman and even as an ODI batsman. But what the numbers will miss is how much more than batsmanship he brought to the team. What the numbers will miss is the fact that he along with Ganguly and Sachin brought tremendous credibility to the Indian team during the fixing scandal.

The finest no.3 we have known. The man who grind it out for the team cause. The man who re-introduced us to the joys of perseverance. The man who showed that hardwork could never go out of fashion.

For all the years and for being the main reason for us having a spine outside of India, thank you Dravid. We have not thanked you enough only because we rolled in the luxury of having you not as the best of your generation but the second best. We will realise the whole and true value of your batsmanship painfully through your absence.

We retain the right...

... to use, abuse and generally humiliate you! You are after all our favourite whipping boy. We give two hoots to the fact that you have been our most dependable batsman - nay check that - you have been our most dependable player but we really dont care about that

So you have kept wickets so that we could play an additional batsman because at that point of time we really did not have anyone worth their salt who could do both - wear the wicketkeeping gloves and hold the bat the right way. Yes yes - you could have refused and played as a pure batsman (its not as if our batting cupboard was overflowing with talent to replace you as a batsman) but you put the team interests over your own and manfully donned the gloves to help build a killer team. But really its you who were crazy enough not to be selfish - you cant hold that to us !

Yes you batted at all positions in the squad - heck you even opened the batting, you even played the role of a fantastic one day finisher, you have played the sheet anchor role, you have played well on any surface - but really its your fault that you could change the image we hold of you - that of a stodgy blocker. So what if you have really finished off most innings with elan? So what if you were the most dependable and proficient chaser of a total? It is undeniably your FAULT for having created that impression of yourself in the first place! Surely - you cant hold THAT against us ?

Yes you have batted at 0/1 most of your life, you have even opened the test innings because there was no one else willing to put their hand up. It has to be your fault for not going with the flow and ignoring the team needs. What kind of moron time and again volunteers to put himself in peril just for the team cause? How are we to blame if you are a glutton for self-punishment? Surely - you cant hold THAT against us?

Yes we dropped you unceremoniously from the OD squad because we imagined we had a bunch of youngsters better than you. So what if we had only played them on flat batting friendly 'Even-Munaf-Can-Hit-A-Fifty-Here' kind of pitches ? They were the youth and they look so dashing! And even when they get out they look so elegant - unlike you! You stupid stodgy blocker who hits every ball to the fielder! What? You say you were more effective! Hah - yet again its your fault for being effective over being stylish and generally in the news! Who told you to peacefully get married and be a family man? If you were to have affairs with filmstars maybe you would have been more interesting! Surely you can't hold that against us - CAN YOU?

And yes so we goofed up by trusting the youth too much - they couldnt really handle the short ones. So when we went off to difficult pitches, we called you back. Like the dumb glutton for abuse you are - you promptly decided to come back and bail out the team and play the short balls on bad pitches. Yeah Yeah you did a reasonable job there but hah now we are back on flat pitches! We dont need no help from you no more! We are back on the 'Even-Munaf-Can-Hit-A-Fifty-Here' pitches and you can keep your boring effective batting to yourself!

You Sir - have done everything the team could have asked of you! You have led by example. You have taken the tab for the team at every possible opportunity. And yet you are a fool for having done all of this for a bunch of people who couldnt have cared less. For having sacrificed yourself and having expected nothing in return.

Rahul 'The Wall' Dravid - you have banged yourself against a stone wall hoping that the stone wall would yield. It never will.

Farewell !

The Last Laps

One always tends to get nostalgic when one knows that one is doing something for the last time. When you have done it time and again repeatedly - and when you know that this is it - this is the last time you will be there - its only natural that one will get nostalgic or look at things indulgently. Its all the same - there is relief and there is that sadness at knowing that never again will you be able to do it again. Be it the last exam, or the last game or whatever - one has the right to be indulgent and look at the past - which if you look at it indulgently would have been good.

For Sachin, Dravid, Ganguly and Kumble the last lap has begun. After making zillions of rounds around the race track - they will now start seeing the places they have seen so many times for one last time - passing by all the milestones. The last lap has begun for them all.

For Sachin, Dravid and Ganguly - England holds a special place. First Century for Sach, 3 centuries on Debut for Ganguly and a confident 95 on debut for Dravid. England 1996 was where the germs of a superb middle order were first laid.

And since then we have seen some stunning knocks on the tours to England. Dravid's gritty 147 at Headingley followed by the 193 by Sachin and the 120 odd by Ganguly just to name a masterpiece each by the three of them.

It will be really interesting to see how they sign off on the tour. For Sachin who had announced himself with a gritty match saving century (maiden at that) as a teenager - it will be paramount that he goes out in similar fashion to the match against the England Lions.

This is the first of the milestones on the last lap - Australia awaits. And winning here is the only way we can go to Oz Land looking to win