In a way, this is supposed to be my comeback post, haven’t really written something for quite a while. So, what brings me here? It’s the same thing that inspired me to write in the first place two years ago... the respect, the love for a man called Rahul Dravid.
The Champions League 2013 ended yesterday, and along with it, brought the curtains on his illustrious career. I will get to that, but let me first talk about those 12-15 guys who wore the royal blue jersey and taught us, taught me, what a team really means. Being a Dravid fan, my mood on match days was pretty much determined by his performance while he was playing for India. His lean patch in 2008 made me throw my books away, his stupendous performance in England in 2011 made me ecstatic.
But during the course of this Champions League, it was pretty evident that he wouldn’t churn out runs from his bat the way he did for nearly 2 decades, time away from the game did take it's toll on his performance. But this time, it wasn’t his failure as a batsman that bothered me, but the success of the team as a whole that cheered me. That is a feeling Rajasthan Royals have taught me. Stars making a team is understandable, but when each every member of the team gives in his best to make the team a star, that’s something remarkable.
Ajinkya Rahane played in a manner we were used to see Dravid in, laying the foundation, anchoring the innings and letting his bat do the talking. Scoring four fifties in a row is a testament to that. But we don’t need you to be the next Rahul Dravid; we want you to be the first Ajinkya Rahane.
Sanju Samson, I first saw a glimpse of you when chasing 172 against RCB in the IPL, you came in to bat at no.3. The move perplexed me, but your performance that day amazed me. As the tournament advanced, you showed that at a young age of 18, you had the maturity of a pro. I remember during the playoff v/s MI at Eden Gardens, you played a rash shot off Malinga, and got out second ball for a duck, “Big match nervousness” was how a commentator described that shot. Months later, against the same opposition, at Ferozeshah Kotla, in the CLT20 final, you produced a scintillating performance, getting to your 50 off just 24 balls, smashing Harbhajan’s first ball for six!
“Big match player” was how you were described this time by the commentator. You surely have a long way to go, but I know you will come out shining.
Pravin Tambe, it wouldn’t be wrong to call you the success story of this tournament. Your performance is an example, a message for everyone out there, that hardwork always pays. Plying your trade for years in the Mumbai club cricket circuit, not playing a single first class match to being the golden ball winner of the tournament that invites the best from round the world, you surely have come a long way. Where this success takes you is still to be seen, but you surely have become an inspiration, from 14 year olds to even 50 year olds.
Kevon Cooper, James Faulkner, Shane Watson, Stuart Binny, Brad Hodge, Ashok Menaria, Rahul Shukla, Dishant Yagnik, Vikramjeet Malik..... you all are the stars of team and it’s because of all of you that RR is a star. It must have been testing times after the spot fixing scandal, but as Dravid put it, the manner in which you guys came back together was just remarkable.
And it was because of your performance that I learned a few new words as well... fortress and impregnable to name a few!
Now coming back to the captain, I always felt that your performance over the years was overshadowed and perhaps you didn’t get what you deserved. Early exit from the World Cup in 07, stepping down from captaincy and soon after being ignored for the ODI squad, a disappointing IPL in 2008, not a befitting end to your test match career...... all these things will, infact have saddened Dravid fans. Me too.
A CLT20 trophy would have been an ointment for that disillusionment. But again, expecting these things would be like wishing a fairytale journey for you, something like in Tendulkar’s case, but what all this taught me is that maybe, you were not meant for a fairytale, rather, God left it to you to write your own story....
- Every time India was in trouble, you raised your hand, be it wicket keeping in 2003 or opening the batting in test matches...
- After a successful tour of England in 2007, you stepped down from captaincy....
- After being ousted from the ODI side, you continued to fight it out in the longer format...
- “T20 is not for you” you were told, but after 6 years of the flash bang cricket, you’ve proved everyone wrong...
- After a brilliant performance in England in 2011, you were recalled to the ODI side, because they needed you, and you went out with a masterful half century in your last match. Before that you were recalled for the Champions Trophy in 2009, again, because you were needed...
- You motivated a team of nobodies to believe in themselves and punch above their weight...
- After the spot fixing scandal, you played the pivot and made sure RR stayed as a unit and during the course, made unknown players stars...
- Being a test romantic, your last appearance was in a T20 final, leading a side not many would have fancied in the first place...
Not many could have done this... and maybe that’s why God chose you for this.
That is a far bigger achievement than having a fairytale finish.For me atleast...
" Thank you Rajasthan Royals... Proud to be your fan... "
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