Dravid, not the other Rahul, was the true face of India

This wall will never be brought down… I come to praise Dravid, not to bury him… The night has stopped – not paused, but stopped… Words are like leg-byes in his 180 against Australia… Inside, I am broken – hollow – empty… Two images – the same face – different places, different times. Goa, late ’91 or early ’92, I am shooting a film there. I read in the papers that Karnataka is playing Goa in the Ranji Trophy. Kirmani is the captain of Karnataka, one of my heroes. I go the Karnataka nets the evening before the match, Kirmani invites me over – and in. Before I know what is happening, I am padded up and facing Srinath and Kumble – one ball from the former rears past my nose, and he smiles and steps aside – Kumble, bespectacled, bowls on, and I survive. Kirmani chuckles in appreciation – but at the corner of the nets, shadow-playing, is a young, slim man – in his own world – quiet, aloof, but very alive. I recognize him as Rahul Dravid, because he has already made a name for himself – he seems to pay no attention to the actor trying to play cricket, yet I sense that he is aware of me. [caption id=“attachment_239819” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Indian cricket player Dravid speaks to the media as he announces his retirement from international cricket in Bangalore. Reuters”] [/caption] Delhi airport, sixteen years later, Dravid has just led India to success in England in the Test series, but his captaincy has already ended. The IPL is looming ahead – the past and the future are face to face – once again, he does not seem to notice me – or anyone. A cricketing god, and he glides through the crowed as if, once again, in his own world – no one calls out his name, or even stares at him – and on his face is the ‘look’ – no far more severe than in Goa sixteen years before, but still the ‘look’ – a man alone, and yet in a crowd – stern, and yet aware – I am empty inside tonight – the night has stopped. Yes, he was the Vinod Khanna to someone else’s Amitabh Bachchan – but he was Vinod Khanna, not Shashi Kapoor – and that is not to belittle Shashi Kapoor. Let us always – always – remember Dravid from the England series of 2011. What happened in Australia was a reality, truly, but I feel what was happening in the team around him deeply affected Dravid – just as it did when he gave up the captaincy. And let us always remember that as a captain, Vinod Khanna was streets ahead of Amitabh Bachchan. I have always thought that Rahul Dravid, not the other Rahul, was the true face of modern India. Few words, and yet the confidence of knowing that he, and his country, are the equal of the best in the world – the studied stroke play, the studied words – no frills, and yet such fullness. My favourite Dravid shot of all time? Pulling Allan Donald in South Africa – White Lightning had been met by a very special thunder. My favourite innings? Yes, that 180 – I was editing a TV serial that famous day, so only saw him in fits and very fine starts – but every time we took a tea break, he and Laxman would still be there – never have I felt a day so filled with grit and perfection as that day. Now the last we will see of him on the pitch is in the IPL – and I have a feeling that he will cut loose, and just possibly grace that form of cricket with much more than it deserves. Finally, let Dravid take over the BCCI – move aside all the pot-bellied politicians, the suits, the empty talkers, the mandarins; let Dravid and Jagdale and Ganguly and Ravi Shastri run the BCCI – they may not make so much money as the present crowd, but they will make much more sense and much more cricket. Rahul, on behalf of all of us, from Mussoorie to Mangalore to Ladakh to Lucknow and back again, I weep tonight – and through the tears, my thanks pour forth. There will never be another you…