A leader and a gentleman

I am not much of a cricket fan. Yes, I live in this cricket-obsessed country, but I am not. In fact, until about a few years back I wouldn’t even follow cricket. Sure, I knew there was a Gavaskar who was the first to score 10,000 runs in Test Cricket or a Kapil Dev, who refused to retire because he wanted that one extra wicket, but that was about it. Things have changed, of course. Well, when you are married to a cricket-crazy man whose priorities in life are cricket, sleep and then me – in that order – you don’t have much of a choice. You just get involved. But ever since I started taking cricket a little more seriously, I have been extremely impressed with one person – this person’s style (and not play alone), attitude, outlook; everything in fact has had me enamored. To me, he always seemed a thorough gentleman first (a species fast on the course of extinction, if I may say so), and then a cricketer. Today, one can proudly say this – he is a leader and a gentleman.

I am sure you know who I am referring to. Rahul Dravid (with a lot of help from Chappell, I am sure) has given a new face to Indian cricket, transforming it from a group of 11 individuals who sometimes played together to Team India. And, anyone who has watched the team go down the drain in the last couple of years will surely agree with me when I say that this is a commendable achievement for someone who has occupied the “much-coveted” position in the team for only a few days now. It is there for everybody to see – the energy in the field, the spring in their stride, the heads held high, and a collective hunger for victories. It was most evident in the ODI at Pune yesterday – after first two overs no runs on the board, Sachin Tendulkar bowled in the next couple of overs and yet another batsman walking back to the pavilion within no time, 6 wickets down including the ever-dependable Dravid and 80-plus runs required to get home; a few days ago even the most die-hard fan would have given up on the match, but this team did not – Dhoni and Raina stayed calm, took every opportunity that came their way without taking too many risks, and finally scampered home rather easily. This may have been Agarkar’s match, but it was the team contribution that helped India seal the series against the Lankans.

It was a near-perfect performance, and the credit to a large extent has to go to Dravid, who has turned out to be a great leader. Dravid has always led by example, being a role model that others wanted to emulate. That I believe is a hallmark of a leader – if you want the team to do its best, perform to its potential, accept challenges and overcome them, you have to show that you are working hard towards doing the same. When the team sees that the leader practices what he/she preaches, it is bound to start making a difference. Secondly, I think what has made a difference is this – Dravid has believed in the team, each one of them individually as well as collectively, thereby letting them believe in themselves. That self-belief has now magically transformed to a can-do attitude, and that, coupled with a few innovative ideas, is the secret of India returning to winning ways.

I should admit after the Jaipur match while speaking about Dhoni’s performance, I told hubby, “This is so similar to the Pakistan series. We thumped them in the first two matches, with Dhoni doing extremely well in the second one. And then when we should have won just one more match to seal the series we started to lose. And that happened after Dhoni’s cracking performance. Will we see something similar here as well?” I am glad now I am being forced to eat my words.

Update: CricInfo has an exclusive interview with Rahul Dravid. Read more here.