The Wall called Dravid

It is said that if foundation is strong, then the building will never develop cracks. Besides foundation, the pillars and the walls also need to be tough to stand any weather. Indian cricket has always been fortunate to have strong pillars who have always been the mainstay of Indian batting. Be it Vijay Merchant, Vijay Hazare, Sunil Gavaskar, GR Vishwanath or Dilip Vengsarkar. These batsmen, with their sheer grit and determination, have been always standing tall among ruins and given middle order that strength which helped Indians score many memorable victories.
As the time passed by, these legends had to hang their boots and pass on the mantle to the younger generation. Their successors also did not let them down and carried the torch in the most efficient way. From Sachin Tendulkar to Rahul Dravid to VVS Laxman to Sourav Ganguly, each and everyone played his part in providing strength to the Indian batting. Despite wickets falling at other ends, these played remained glued to the crease and scored hundreds to see the team through.
Dravid, the wonder boy from Bengaluru, entered the cricketing scene when the team was badly in need of a batsman who would withstand any attack in any playing condition. Labelled as the ‘most courageous and consistent bat’ in the Test cricket, ‘Jammy’ as Dravid is affectionately called, proved that he is equally good in the one-day format of the game with his hard work and dedication. Though initially he failed to make his own mark in the short form, he grooved into the ‘system’ as the years passed and was named player of the series in ODIs on many occasions. With his consistent show in all the formats of the Gentleman’s Game at all levels, he was justifiably called as ‘The Wall’ of the Indian cricket which never cracks.
Even his opponents respected him for his ‘never say die’ attitude. The bowlers used to make changes in their plans once Dravid reached the crease for they were always ‘scared’ of his ability to play every delivery in the most technical way and score at his will. The best part of Jammy was that he always took the criticism positively and improved his game accordingly. Some years ago, when he was sidelined from the ODI team, he never became upset, but worked his way through the team again for the England tour only to announce later that this will be his last tour as the ODI player since he want to concentrate only on Test cricket in the future. Now that The Wall has bid adieu to the ODIs, the Indian cricket seems to be turning to some exciting bunch of youngsters who are ready to jump into his place and carry on the legacy left by him. Let’s hope that someone as good as Dravid cements his place in the team and give Jammy a perfect goodbye. After all, we believe in carrying on the traditions left by our forefathers isn’t it.