Dravid: The Inspiration

Okay, this my second consecutive post glorifying Rahul Dravid. Yes, I am a die-hard Dravid fan. I cannot tolerate anything being said against him in anyway. I can't bear to see him fail either. I am Rajasthan Royals supporter in IPL only because Rahul Dravid plays for them.

But none of the above is a reason that urges me write another post about Dravid.  The reason is very simple. He has been the architect  of his own success. He was not born with the "Tendulkar-Talent" nor did have the "freakish-Laxman" in him. No part of his game made you say, 'How the hell did he pull out that shot'. That is the reason it is easy to relate to his success. His batting makes you believe that even you can do it, if you put in that effort. Thus, his success rather in leaving you in awe, inspires you to do well. He has built a road map for everyone to attain great heights.   


You need not be the most gifted to achieve heights
 

Nothing came to him easily. There was a

Not a naturally gifted ODI player, but he did not do too badly! 10,000 runs!

time when he was    deemed as a Test specialist. People thought he was not good enough to play ODIs. It seemed true at that time. When Dravid started his career, he was not a very impressive ODI player. But he ended up being one of the finest the game has seen. People had criticized his scoring rate. Dravid worked on his wicket-keeping which allowed him to be in the team. Simultaneously he his scoring rate improved dramatically. In fact, at the end of his career a strike of 71.2, considering his  ordinary start to One Dayers, it is very good number. That defines Dravid. He just showed that despite being not naturally gifted, one can eventually become pretty good at it. He never said, 'ODIs are not my cup of tea, let me be a great Test Batsman.' He chose the harder path. He may not have become the best ODI player, but he did become a very fine player. Over10,000 ODI runs! He did not do too badly!


Giving up is not allowed in the blood

One of my favorite Dravid centuries is the one which he scored against New Zealand recently when New Zealand toured India last time around. It is one of those hundreds which people would have forgotten.  In fact, it was one of dirtiest 100s scored by Rahul Dravid. He was struggling to time the ball initially, he was not able find the gaps. He just could not move the scorecard in the initial part of the innings. By the time had face 100 deliveries his score was still under 10. But none of this frustrated Dravid into giving his wicket way. He kept battling his poor form and eventually emerged victorious. That innings showed what laid behind the monumental success story he had constructed. In the toughest of times, even in the worst of his forms he just hung in there. His wicket had to be earned. That is the kind of grit which lays foundation for any success story. 'Give up' is something Dravid has never heard of.


Play the game for right reasons

 As a Rahul Dravid fan, I had always wanted see Dravid having an emotional retirement, playing a last home test and leave with standing ovation. Dravid in some corner of his heart may have thought of fairy-tale farewell. When asked about this, Dravid simply said if he extended his career for one last test, then he would be playing the  game for the wrong reasons. Every moment Dravid had spent on the cricket field, it was to make sure that the team looked good. Rest all was secondary. Dravid's career taught that one should never forget the bigger picture. In sport the big picture is the team looking good (not necessarily winning).

Dravid career just tells that, more than the "skill" part, it is "will" part of you that will decide where you finally end up. It just tells that one need not be born with a silver spoon (in terms of talent) to end up being rich ( in terms of achievement). Thus, Dravid becomes the perfect role model for any success aspirant.