Cricket Now a Much Poorer Game as Rahul Dravid Retires

And then what we all dreaded was confirmed to be true - Rahul Dravid has called it a day and he has declared his retirement from international cricket. A man who stood like a wall when his team mates, many a time, fell like nine pins will no longer wield a bat and saunter on to a cricket field to calm nerves and to fill hopes in the minds of thousands of Indian cricket lovers. I bow my head in profound respect in front of a man who has been more than a mere batsman, for he was a gentleman to the core, a real master of the game and a great role model for a whole generation.

The great man had always been in the shadows of one performance or one man. When he made 95 on test debut against England at Lords, his performance was overshadowed by the century on debut by Sourav Ganguly. When he revived Indian cricket’s fortunes at the Eden Gardens in 2001 with a hard fought 180, it was overshadowed by the epic 281 by VVS Laxman, one of the greatest innings in the history of test match cricket (this writer considers that innings of VVS as the greatest test match innings he has ever witnessed). And all through his career he was perpetually under the shadow of the greatest cricketer of his generation Sachin Tendulkar. However it must be said that he carved a niche for himself in world cricket, for there are few better than him at No: 3, often considered as the most difficult of all batting positions.

Just take a look at some of the records that the great man possesses. Second highest run getter in test match cricket; only Indian to score four centuries in a trot; with a tally of 210, he has the most number of catches by a fielder in test matches; he has been involved in most century partnerships in test cricket (88) and the most awesome record among all, he has faced 31258 deliveries in Test cricket, more than any other batsman in the history of the game.

When he walks on to the shades of international cricket he will be remembered as one of the greatest champions of the art of batting, a true legend, and an embodiment of patience, discipline, consistency, dependability and what not. The great game of cricket will be a much poorer game, now that Rahul Dravid has retired from it. But it could be said without any doubt that his name would shine in the annals of the game always. Thank you very much Rahul Dravid for being a role model for all of us, who have looked up to you for inspiration to weather down calamities in life as you often did when you went out to bat for the Indian cricket team as a real wall, as the great wall of India. We salute you.