A legend retires...

"The Wall" has retired. I wish I could add the word "unexpectedly". The Wall was always strong, but off-late it looked like it would crumble. I still don't buy the argument that he should make way for the youngsters; his technique went surprisingly wrong after just one series against West Indies in home condition; his reflexes went seriously slow just 6 months after the England tour where he was the most successful batsman for India. But having said that, I have no doubt that he made the right choice, the right decision. Even if he would have had a successful Australia tour (which surprisingly he never had except that one match-winning hundred in Adelaide in 2003-04), I honestly think it was the right time to announce his retirement. He had nothing to prove to anyone. He has been the most successful no.3 batsman, this side of Sir Don, and certainly the best batsman in recent times in terms of technique, temperament and approach to the game. If some people think he should have retired after the England tour, I would put my argument saying that the "Tour Down Under" is one of the most difficult and grueling tour for any batsman from the sub-continent. And his presence would have certainly helped the Indian team. That it didn't help much, isn't too disappointing considering the fact that except for the one century by Virat Kohli, none of the batsmen looked assuring on this one tour (including the great Sachin).

Looking back on the last 16 years of Indian cricket, as much as Sachin's impact on the game, Indian cricket has been blessed with two batsmen who have remained in the shadow of Sachin, but still had their own way of making an impact on the game. At the opening slot, we have Virender Sehwag who would feast on the pacers, score at brisk rate and give the platform for the middle-order. If it wasn't Sehwag's batting, we wouldn't have won majority of the matches outside the sub-continent. Having said that, the team also needed someone who could keep himself calm and assured while Sehwag bludgeoned the bowlers. And we couldn't have found anyone better than Dravid himself. It was his cool-calm-composed way of batting which ensured that after the fall of first wicket (especially if it was Sehwag) we had someone who could stop the fall further, and build his innings and then take the game away slowly but steadily from the opposition. Even before Sehwag burst onto the international scene, we had a huge set of problems finding a proper opener. That demon would raise it's head very profoundly on foreign pitches. And it is this reason why Dravid was so much wanted when the team would require him to walk onto the pitch, many a times in the first few overs of the innings.

Indian cricket in the 1990s was always heavily dependent on Sachin Tendulkar. (It will again be, now that Dravid has retired and it would still take a lot of time for someone to step in those big shoes left by him.) And it really was a blessing to have Dravid who could absorb the initial shocks for the team and let Sachin & others walk-in to play freely. Sadly, Dravid always had to stay behind the scenes or get overshadowed by either Sehwag at the start of the innings, or Sachin-Laxman in the later stages of the innings. But he never complained and that's the beauty of this man. He always knew only one thing, to put head down and focus on the job and save the team; he did this successfully over 15 years. I am waiting to see any youngster showing this quality. There would be many "deserving" candidates/youngsters who are desperately waiting to make their mark on the game. They might be very good-compact in their technique and might be fearless enough to play some aggressive innings rather than putting their heads down and knitting an innings. But I haven't seen this abovementioned quality in them. We have a Virat Kohli who has one of the best techniques in modern army of youngsters waiting for their turns. We have a Rohit Sharma who, like Inzamam, has lot of time to play his shots and has great technique. We have a Cheteshwar Pujara who is as good as Dravid. But the question is, do they have that temperament, that approach, that grittiness, that determination to hand around for as long as needed? With the current bombarding of T20, batsmen are more interested in playing their shots, hit boundaries, than knitting-building their innings.

It is not because Dravid commands respect, that he shouldn't be asked to hang-up his boots. It is not because he was one of the best batsman who played the game, that he shouldn't have quit the game. It is because, one series failure is no reason to question his abilities, his commitments, his desire to represent the country. Just 6 months back, he was the best batsman on the England tour. Just 6 months back the country was busy praising his technique, his dedication to bring glory to the country/team in terms of cricket. Just 6 months back, he scored 4 back-to-back centuries when the entire team was struggling to put bat to the ball. Unless, his clone played thereafter, I see no big reason why his technique-reflexes deteriorated so much that he failed in Australia. Mind you, he has scored only 2 centuries against the Aussies, one that famous 180 in Kolkata (2001-02), and one in Adelaide (2003-04). He hasn't exactly failed against them, but never had a flair of success either. So his failure, hasn't been really a glaring point enough to ask for his retirement. As said earlier, only due to the importance of this tour he seems to have made himself available.

Unlike Sachin Tendulkar, I have not seen major changes or modifications in Dravid's technique or way of batting in test cricket over the years. Fortunately, he was never unfit enough to miss any test-series, and he didn't have to make any such changes either. Inspite of this, his batting was always life-infusing for the team. He may not have the glamour of Sachin-Sehwag or even Laxman-Ganguly in his batting. But it never restricted him. He had the best of the techniques and almost every shot in the book. That is the reason behind his success, behind his 13000 test runs (and 10000 ODI runs too). He never kept the book aside. Whatever was the situation, this attitude, this loyalty to the technique helped him and gave him success. Or else how do you expect a slow run-getter like him to score 10000 ODI runs in just 350+ matches?

With Dravid, sadly, the cricket-book has closed down, maybe forever. Yes, there are still two batsman who are great students of this copy-book type of cricket, made famous by people like Gavaskar, Boycott, etc. But Sachin and Laxman often keep this bookish way aside and play a different game, Sachin does it more often, he has written a new book himself (I mean new non-bookish strokes). Dravid was the last player who was always loyal to that type and class of cricket. Now all that remains is group of stylish players, stroke-makers, and a huge group of T20 players.

RSD, you would certainly be missed. Your contribution to the game, no matter how overshadowed it has been in the company of SRT/SCG/VVSL, will always be remembered and we would cherish those memorable performances for a long time. The scene of you punching the hand in the air after hitting the winning-runs at Adelaide (2003-04) will never be forgotten, for that sums up your contribution. Selfless, gritty and never-say-die attitude.

Thank you for those wonderful, calm and honestly dedicated 16 years you gave for the team and for the country. Hope we now see you in a better role, in administration of the game. You have so much more than playing game to offer.