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The writing on the Wall Anand Vasu - 12 February 2002
If you are a fan, as more than half the populace (including many of the fairer sex) of this country is, then the wall is a symbol of reliability, a high left elbow and straight bat. If you are a detractor, as cricket writers sometimes tend to be, the very same thing is an euphemism for a dour, deadpan approach and a frustrating inability to beat the field. Either way, India's recent showing in the limited-overs clashes against England have demonstrated the need to have Dravid shoring up the middle order. His return to international cricket after a lay-off for shoulder treatment is to be welcomed. "I am feeling much stronger now. There is nothing wrong really. I have been hitting a few balls in the nets and feel good. The side game against Zimbabwe will give me a good chance to get back in the groove," Dravid told CricInfo from Bangalore. "I have played quite a few side games even after becoming a regular for India - against Australia and New Zealand for example - so it is nothing new," he added. Another factor not particularly new to Dravid is the incessant griping about his approach to Test and one-day cricket. "It is an old story that goes on and on," said the man who averages close to 52 in the longer version of the game and scores almost 38 runs per knock in one-dayers at a strike rate of 68.13. Dissecting the statistics is a revealing process, and the best ones on Dravid are famous enough. He possesses the highest average for a number three batsman since Sir Don Bradman and is one of the few cricketers to perform better abroad, averaging 53.2 from 27 Tests abroad as against 50.69 in 26 Tests at home. The numbers narrate a fine tale, accurately representing Dravid's substantial contribution to Indian cricket. But how can that ever change the immense frustration, the wave of irritation that spreads through an Indian fan when, as in Bangalore recently against England, Dravid scores a painful 3 in 61 balls against an attack that can only humourously be described as menacing? "People have different expectations of their cricketers. Some people have very high expectations of me as a batsman, and there are others who rate me lower and do not expect much of me. You have to be satisfied that you are giving the best you can, doing what is best for the team, and move on," said Dravid, explaining how he dealt with things. For years now, Dravid has been rated as a cricketer who thinks intensely about his game. Whether it is cricket in general, or specifically his technique as a batsman, Dravid has always appeared to have a plan. "Frankly, I have played for about six years at this level and am constantly looking to set standards for myself and meet them. I am always looking to improve as a player, whether it is in one-day cricket or Test cricket. All the time, you are playing against people who are professional and getting better. If you don't keep improving, you will be left behind," he opined. It all sounds good in theory, but how is a player on tour much of the time, playing cricket day in and day out, supposed to put it into practice? "If you want to become a better player, you really need to concentrate on the process of learning," explained Dravid. "You have to keep looking at yourself and seeing what you can do better, what changes you can make to improve. There is no point putting too much stress on what other people think or say. You have to look at things yourself." Today, however, cricket is so big that there is always going to be criticism and analysis. From former legends to scribes who have never played the game, everybody has a right, and indeed a brief, to offer his opinion. "I don't really go around either looking for what people have written about me or avoid it. Obviously you get the newspaper at home and will have a glance, just as the odd magazine article may catch your fancy." Dravid, unlike many others, does not get irritated by non- cricketers criticising the way he plays the game. "Sometimes there is a lot you can learn from a former cricketer and from others. Even if someone has not played the game, he might have seen something that others missed. If there is sense in what someone is saying, I use it," said Dravid. "If it is something that is simply critical without making sense, then you just have to agree to disagree and move on. Everybody gets criticised, whether a debutant or the greatest player in the world. People have a job to do, and you have to understand that. They will be critical. It is for me to go out, bat and do well."
When you see both facets, you begin to understand the other side to the adulation, the toothy Pepsi advertisements, and the mega- buck contracts. It is not easy being Rahul Dravid. "It is a difficult thing, but that is also the charm of being an Indian cricketer. There is so much on television and in the papers that everyone has an opinion on things," accepted Dravid philosophically. "From former cricketers, who are expert commentators on television, to the man who runs a sweet shop near my house, everyone has a view on the game. But you need that, the game needs that passion. It is not easy, but you have to learn to accept it." Dravid has done just that. If he had not, the wall would have cracked, showed signs of weakness, and begun to crumble under the constant pressure to be faultlessly correct and breathtakingly successful at the same instant.
© CricInfo
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