The day he retired - A tribute to the Wall
Mohit, Akshay, Kiran, Midhu, Pranesh, Ravi, Shravan and Kartik. For all those memories, I dedicate this to you.
Please do not judge this blog solely based on this article.
My emotions get the better of me when it comes to Rahul Dravid.
Now let’s rewind to this very hour, on this day, exactly 2
years ago.
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| March 9, 2012: Dravid gestures after announcing his retirement at a press conference in Bengaluru Image Courtesy: The New York Times |
I vividly recall refreshing my mobile browser repeatedly
while I ate quietly in a corner of the mess away from my friends. Former India
Captain Rahul Dravid had on the previous night, called for a joint press conference
along with President of the BCCI N Srinivasan at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. At 39, following the disastrous tour Down Under where he was bowled
6 times in 8 innings, there was little doubt as to what his announcement was
going to be about. Dreading the inevitable, I decided to skip classes that
afternoon to focus on following the live feed.
Dravid, to me, was more than just the second highest run-getter of all time (at the time of his retirement). He was more than the self-effacing
gentleman we had gotten used to hearing about. More than the unwavering
resilience we have associated him with. He was, a part of my childhood. I had
grown up idolizing him ever since I was awestruck seeing that clenched fist and scream of delight at Adelaide when I was 10. Like his other loyal fans of my
generation, I too had grown up forging memories while watching him sacrifice
everything he could in the best interests of the team. My friends at the Good
Shepherd dormitories making fun of us, his fans, whenever he jumped to defend those
bouncers, locking up the warden and using our duplicate keys to open the TV cupboard,
waking up at 3 am during our ICSE board examinations, not to study, but to
watch more of his sublime cuts in New Zealand… If there was one thing watching
Dravid had taught me, it was standing up and achieving the impossible when the
chips were down. And achieve the impossible we did, despite getting caught
countless times at my hostel in Chennai! Climbing onto the roof and applying
Physics concepts to fix TV cable wires, climbing over the walls of the hostel
to visit hair salons, slipping under our desks in class and sitting there for
hours listening to the live commentary, perpetually devising new tricks to avoid
getting caught, the heated debates we used to have…
Whatever vestiges of hope I had left vanished the moment
Dravid began his address. He had, right in his first sentence, announced his
retirement from international and domestic first-class cricket. The fact that
he made this decision while resisting the temptation to score heavily in the
upcoming home series and have a clear lead over Ponting in the all-time highest
run-getters list (Remember the IPL that followed? He was still in his element
then, mind you.) only made me respect his greatness even more. Unlike
cricketers who had stood by doing nothing when sports organizations fought over
their fairy tale send-offs, Dravid was a man who would've politely but sternly
declined the offer of being asked to play a farewell match. Tears trickled down
my face while this strange mix of nostalgia, shock and awe hit me that
afternoon.
I could keep writing about him, but I’d rather pen my
thoughts to commemorate the rest of the Dravid Days of the year. It might have been two years since he hung his boots, but the legacy that this man has left
behind will be remembered for a lot more than the runs he had scored. SoSpeakUpNow!
and shower your tributes for the legend here!
On a personal note, it would be a dream come true for me if
he happens to read this post someday!
Dravid days it seems! You are mad rahul!
ReplyDeleteHaha! I take pride in being his fan, Siddharth!
ReplyDeleteYea cos you never skip classes otherwise :P
ReplyDeleteSiddhant.. Tributes only please? :P
DeletePraising dravid is good butJust don't mess with sachin dude.
ReplyDeleteUnlike cricketers who had stood by doing nothing when sports organizations fought over their fairy tale send-offs
Delete