Thank You Jammy!

Rahul Dravid, popularly known as ‘The Wall’ has announced his retirement on 09 – 03 – 2012. The announcement came in the same dignified fashion as he has been conducting himself on the cricketing field for the past sixteen years. Knowing the man he is, it was a decision taken in the best interest of the future of Indian cricket. He wanted to have the youngsters a good stint on the Indian soil before they confront the swinging, pacy and bouncy overseas pitches.

I still vividly remember the very first match I saw Rahul batted. It was a one day game and he was bowled after scoring four runs. I liked the man the moment I saw him on the field. I have been an ardent fan of Sachin Tendulkar ever since he made his debut against Pakistan and pulverized Abdul Qadir. Sachin has always been a God to me, as any Indian cricket fan would say. But for Dravid the path to glory was a hard way filled with hurdles and thorns. He is a self made cricketer. He transformed himself from a good batsman into an all time  batting legend by sheer  determination, guts and hard training. Even after becoming the greatest No 3 that india has ever produced, Dravid was perfectly willing to do anything for the betterment of the team. He batted in virtually all the positions, did the glove work for Indian one day team, and opened the test batting when the team missed an opener. During the short period he captained India, he took the onus on himself for the team’s debacle, despite winning a few test series abroad.

When asked about his best innings, the experts pondered over his 180 against the aussies at the Eden Gardens; his century in Headingly where India had to bat first on seaming wicket; his 140+ knock against Australia in Australia to win a test match. To me the first match that came to my mind when this question was asked was the innings he played against Pakistan in the Independence cup. It was a loosing cause alright, but on a personal that was when I became a real fan of Dravid I believe.

Even now when I think about Dravid’s contribution to Indian Cricket, the picture that conjures up in my mind is the sight of him walking quietly to the batting crease at the fall of an early wicket. It was quite regular for the Indian team to loose an early wicket and it was also quite a routine for Dravid to consolidate after that. Dravid, with his cricketing skills has won numerous matches and has won millions of hearts through his humility and selflessness.

Thanks Jammy for the wonderful memories you have provided us. We will always cherish them.

Good bye and Have a great off-field career.