Its sad indeed that even the Great wall of India could not take the pressure. Its actually not the game thats bothering him, its the media, some of the players and the cricket board (Politics) its like fighting your own people which is shame. But good thing is he still continues to contribute to the game from his bat even though we miss his thoughts and plan of actions as a captain.
Remember cricket is not a individual game, its team game if people can't give there best there's very little that a captain can do. "Every day is not a Sunday", the famous saying, and one man cannot be a match winner. Every game India play, people need to take there turn and be responsible for themselves and also learn to shoulder to the responsibilities on the team. Its not a one man's show. I know there are some young guns like Dhoni, Yuvi n uthappa coming up but the experience counts. These players may play well in 20-20 n on Indian Soil but when we tour to Ausralia or England, Dravid's plans would certainly help us.
Dravid's golden phase began, arguably, in Kolkata'01, with a supporting act, when he made 180 to support VVS Laxman's classic effort of 281 against Australia. But from then on, Dravid became India's most valuable player. saving them Tests at Port Elizabeth(south Africa), Georgetown(West Indies) and Trent Bridge. Winning them Tests at Headingley, Adelaide, Kandy and Rawalpindi. At one point during this run, he carved up four centuries in successive innings, and hit four double-centuries in the space of 15 Tests, including in historic away-wins at Adelaide and Rawalpindi. As India finished off the '04 Pakistan tour on a winning note, on the back of Dravid's epic 270, his average crept past Sachin Tendulkar's - and it seemed no aberration.
Handling conflicts within the team, managing the media, managing the expectations of the fans are ALL part of being a captain and/or a coach(If you dont believe me, check out the BCCI ad for a new coach). If you are pressurized by the media, fans, board, etc. then you aren't good enough as a captain. It is not like captaining a state team, where all that one has to do is to have a good cricketing brain, lots of skills and lots of passion. Dravid has it all. But there is that little bit extra which you need as a captain of India, which he didnt possess. Not even did Sachin possess it, although Sachin is a genius.
And one more thing. EVERYONE is a team man, as far as we are concerned. We do not know what goes on in the dressing room, do we? Does any one in our community watch cricket from the dressing room along with the players? So how do we know who are the cricketers who play for the team and who are the ones who promote groupism? Our knowledge is based on MEDIA INPUTS. SO it is WE who are affected by the media.
Dravid will continue as a batsman.....and he will ROCK the Aussies. Thats what he does best...BAT. Let him do that.
0 comments:
Post a Comment