Rahul Dravid never enjoyed the harsh glare of captaincy - not when he was masterminding many an Indian win, and definitely not when the team didn't live up to its potential, most notably at the 2007 World Cup.
It didn’t come as too big a surprise to many who know the self-contained Bangalorean reasonably well that he chucked the job after two years in the hot seat, preferring to step back and focus on his own batting.
While captaincy didn’t affect his batting adversely at all, the last year and a half hasn’t been too kind to the classy right-hander. At various stages, his form has been patchy, but not without reason do they say that class is permanent.
A rare barren spell at the international level terminated with a battling 26th Test ton against England in Mohali in December – India haven’t played a Test since – Dravid has silenced wagging tongues and ended loose talk questioning his place in the side. Through his leanish trot, the 36-year-old never doubted himself, though increasingly, he was aware that he had to produce the runs to keep the snapping wolves at bay.
Going into the Test series against New Zealand that began on Wednesday, the composed, technically proficient number three looms as a massive figure. In a line-up replete with glittering stroke-makers, Dravid is the adhesive that binds the batting together, the rock which gives others the liberty and license to indulge themselves.
Amidst a plethora of cavalrymen, the one-time general has been happy being the foot solider, taking it upon himself to bat long periods almost inconspicuously, ungrudgingly ceding space and limelight to the headline boys, content in the knowledge that the men that matter, his team-mates, appreciate, admire and respect his efforts.
Dravid came into the Test series with excellent reason to believe that all is well with his batting world. Nothing gives the former skipper more joy than spending long hours in the middle, blunting the edge of the opposition and picking them off when they bowl to his strengths, of which there are many.
It didn’t come as too big a surprise to many who know the self-contained Bangalorean reasonably well that he chucked the job after two years in the hot seat, preferring to step back and focus on his own batting.
While captaincy didn’t affect his batting adversely at all, the last year and a half hasn’t been too kind to the classy right-hander. At various stages, his form has been patchy, but not without reason do they say that class is permanent.
A rare barren spell at the international level terminated with a battling 26th Test ton against England in Mohali in December – India haven’t played a Test since – Dravid has silenced wagging tongues and ended loose talk questioning his place in the side. Through his leanish trot, the 36-year-old never doubted himself, though increasingly, he was aware that he had to produce the runs to keep the snapping wolves at bay.
Going into the Test series against New Zealand that began on Wednesday, the composed, technically proficient number three looms as a massive figure. In a line-up replete with glittering stroke-makers, Dravid is the adhesive that binds the batting together, the rock which gives others the liberty and license to indulge themselves.
Amidst a plethora of cavalrymen, the one-time general has been happy being the foot solider, taking it upon himself to bat long periods almost inconspicuously, ungrudgingly ceding space and limelight to the headline boys, content in the knowledge that the men that matter, his team-mates, appreciate, admire and respect his efforts.
Dravid came into the Test series with excellent reason to believe that all is well with his batting world. Nothing gives the former skipper more joy than spending long hours in the middle, blunting the edge of the opposition and picking them off when they bowl to his strengths, of which there are many.
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