Introduction
They call him The Wall, I call him the Great Wall of Teamwork. If ever there was an ordinary team man carrying on extra-ordinary burden, then the silently determined Rahul Dravid is the perfect example.
Tests and Tribulations
The guy made a rocking start to his test career with a brilliant knock of 95 in his debut test missing out on well deserved century. But, then his knock got overshadowed by Saurav Ganguly’s debut century in the same match. That set the tone of his career where his great innings often got eclipsed in the achievements of others. Believe me for any person such incidents in the career can be crushing. But not to this guy.
The one days also started pretty well and his role as the anchor was defined in the series against Pakistan at Toronto. But then his position of one down was probably not the best position for him as he usually comes in the first fifteen overs and takes time to settle down and does not hit shots in the air. The field restrictions meant that for him taking singles also was not an avenue, thus he earned the wrath of the nation. Think of all the others who have failed under such circumstances. People like Shastri, Kambli and others could not manage such public criticisms. This is where the grit and determination of Dravid comes to fore. He not only changed his gameplan and his position, he has now become one of India’s automatic choices for the one day team.
Under Ganguly he has blossomed into a match winner especially in the test matches. The stats don’t lie 90% of the time Dravid scores a double century India wins. That is better than Sachine Tendulkar whose most of the double centuries have ended in draws. Who says Dravid is not a matchwinner!! He may not ask for fame, but believe me stats really don’t lie. This man is a winner all the way. He has the grit and determination to grind it out as he showed in the test in England against England when he went on to score a double century on a quagmire of a pitch enabling India to win the test.
Captaincy
Now, I believe that Ganguly was one of the best captains of India. Please not the emphasis on the word ’’was’’, because the reason is he has brought the team to the max level he can bring it to. He is the ideal captain to have in a situation when the team is totally torn apart and needs a charismatic and person with a super ego to put the pieces in place. But once the pieces are in place, you need a person who can consolidate and experiment. Ganguly failed to evolve into this role.
This is where Dravid steps in. He is an ideal captain for any coach. He will listen to the coach would be willing to put ideas into practice and also an ideal captain for performers who have established themselves. Because after reaching a level of proficiency you feel that you can do the job on your own and don’t need constant meddling. This is the approach of Dravid-Chappel combo. To add some spice they are throwing some challenges with experimentation in the team which all adds up pretty well.
Another interesting thought is that Dravid is trying to steer the team from one dominated by individual superstars functioning dysfunctionally, to a single team of ordinary individuals working in synergy. So everyone in the team knows he is as important as the next guy in the team.
But, let’s not get carried away just yet. Dravid’s contribution as a captain is still fledgling compared to the enormous deeds of Ganguly and only time would tell whether Dravid can take India a step higher than Ganguly to the top of the world cricket podium.
All the best to the Great Wall of Team Work.
Cheers!