The sojourn which started in 1996
has come to an end
He has been the unsung hero
but his compatriots have called him most dependable
He gave rock solid stable “wall”
standing amidst the ruins on foreign soils
He held the fort on green top
craving few of India’s biggest victories
7690 runs in test have come while playing outside India
He has hit 21 tons on foreign soils
His 95 was overshadowed in Lords
180 in Kolkata was diminutioned
128 in Lahore was outshined
144 in Guyana was overpowered
but jammy went on piling runs and even more runs
without hogging the limelight
His rise in tests was not meteoric
but established as a vanguard of resurgent Team India
His greatness lies in what his performances have meant to the team
The best of them have been seen as match saving/winning
Who doubted his ODI capability
also got befitting reply scoring over 10k runs in format
The Team Man he was is an example to follow
The respect which he commanded
took the challenges when demanded
Be it wicket keeping or opening the innings
He was there doing his duty without uttering a word
God willing he was successful too
His records accords to the stature of the player he was
Few will make best to toil to reach there
There is no comparison of greats
but whenever one will look back
You will realize that it was
one person who made all the differences
Rahul Sharad Dravid
The Wall has finally toppled
but he will surely be missed
for his kind of cricketer on and off the field
is becoming rarer
The master himself said that
There was and will be only one Dravid.
Take this as my tribute to the most ardent lover of the game who kept it very simple by “trying.”
His records are perhaps too much to be accomodated in few lines.
My best wishes to you Rahul in all your future endeavours!