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Mar 18, 2006 (From the
Cricket Journal)
 "Do
the words “nayee dagar naya safar mera…” from
Rang de Basanti ring a bell in our ears ? Yes,
they do. Loud and clear, as it could be the
closest expression that describes the present
state of Indian cricket. Indeed, they have
embarked on a new journey of excellence the
driving force behind it has been the Wall
himself, Rahul Dravid.
As we have gathered here to celebrate the
century of tests for the Indian skipper, his
initial footings in International cricket
deserve a mention. Playing his first Test match
against England at Lords, considered to be the
‘Mecca of Cricket’ in 1996, Dravid went on to
score 95 and since then looking back has never
been a part of his dictionary. That was the
starting point of a journey that would be most
cherished by Indian cricket. His first century
of 148 runs at Johannesburg in 1996-97 was a
treat to watch for all cricket fans, and the
bricks of an unbreakable Wall were laid. He has
then gone on to score 21 Test centuries and in
the process of doing so, is the only cricketer
to score a hundred in every Test playing nation.
His average of 58.16 is envied by many nations
and his presence on our television sets is a
strong reassurance of our hopes. This unfinished
journey has a long way to go and going by his
consistency and performances, it would to fair
to say, that a place amongst the all-time greats
is just a mile away.
 My
mind dates back to September-October 2005, when
Indian cricket languished under a barrage of
controversies and, it wouldn’t be wrong to say,
that our cricket had hit an all time low. The
country looked up to its crisis man, yet again
to reignite and reinstate the spark that was
needed to resurrect its present and reassure the
future. As the transfer of the captain’s armband
took place from Saurav Ganguly to Rahul Dravid,
the country was gripped with a bright ray of
hope and a bucket full of expectations and all
he asked for patience for deliverance. The man
promised, performed and delivered. A resounding
6-1 one-day series win over Sri Lanka, marked
his arrival and ushered the Dravidian Era of
Indian cricket.
The elements of leadership always existed within
Rahul, but the timing of acquiring the mantle
deserves credit. As the management gurus would
put it, the traits of a leader have to be
identified, nurtured and then must be handed
over the responsibility. The identification
stage was done way back in 1996, when he was
leading the Board President’s XI side against
the visiting South Africans at Kochi. The
nurturing process began with his stint as
Saurav’s deputy from 2000 and today, the process
has reached its logical conclusion, with his
appointment as Captain. He was given stop-gap
opportunities and surely demonstrated his
leadership capabilities in these few matches and
being a part of the learning curve for him, it
proved to be a successful arrangement for the
team.
As a captain today, Rahul Dravid’s leadership is
nothing short of inspirational. His leadership
style is highly reflective of the team’s mindset
of mixing aggression with a degree of control
and cautiousness. As a leader, he comes across
as a man with a larger vision, in the form of
the long-term future and success of Indian
cricket and a focused mission that is the game
on hand. Such exemplary definition of goals is
what leads to initializing and continuing a
process and he repeatedly talks of the
commitment to the process of team-building,
irrespective of the results at the end of the
day.
Another important facet of his leadership is the
way the individual goals are blended with the
team goals. Yes indeed, individual goals are
important, but channelising them in accordance
with the team’s approach is what leads to a
successful unit. His decision to declare the
innings in 2004 with Sachin just 6 short of a
personal score of 200, virtually shocked the
nation, but when one reads into it, for Dravid
an individual is just a mere part of the eleven,
and has to bind within the framework of the
team-strategies. Such tough decisions have
surely played their part in taking Indian
cricket forward.
To put it straight, Rahul’s influence on the
dressing room is impeccable and enormous. The
team has recognized and acknowledged the talent
and shaping up the right attitude is what Rahul
and Chappell have set out to do. There is a
greater sense of belief within the team. Who
could believe that India could chase totals of
270+ repeatedly to win matches, when a stigma of
‘chokers’ accompanied them just a while back ? A
few years ago, with India reeling at 190 for 5,
many fans would have written the team off, but
now, the new approach and leadership has led to
a greater steel and belief in their own
individual abilities, and this is the one of the
main reasons for the resurgence we are
witnessing now. Another important area, that
defines the dressing room climate is confidence.
What Dravid brings to the dressing room is sheer
confidence. Along with the runs from his bat, he
adds confidence to the dressing room, as the
symbol of hope and reassurance. Today, it is
great to see the youngsters in our team like
Sreesanth and Munaf Patel derive strength from
this confidence and perform better. Desire is
another factor that Dravid’s men thrive on. It
is really heartening to see the a great amount
of desire to perform, irrespective of the
results. Rahul has played his part in creating
these levels of desire among his players and the
hunger has surely rubbed onto the results. And
lastly, as a leader, it is important to empower
the team. What we see today as Team India, is
nothing but an extended family of individuals.
There is a huge emphasis on team spirit and for
shaping it up for the larger needs of the team,
the credit goes to Rahul Dravid and Greg
Chappell.
 Another
notable dimension to Dravid’s leadership
qualities, is the fact that he believes in
leading from the front. One of the recent
examples accentuate it – Putting the team’s
interest in mind, Rahul Dravid decided to open
the batting in Pakistan, sacrificing his usual
No. 3 spot. It was a great example that was set
by him and such instances of bravado and
courage, rubbed off to the other members. His
stature as a captain is surely respected by one
and all. No wonder, at times when the boat is
uncertain of the weather, it is the captain to
whom the crew looks upto. His gradual
progression as a captain, has surely succeeded
in instilling some of his guiding principles on
to the players like determination, discipline
and dedication. His performances along with the
consistency, have surely given the right sort of
direction to the rest of the team members and
more importantly, have translated into India’s
performances in the recent past. These are some
of the reasons why, Rahul Dravid is the man we
look up to, when adversity stares us straight on
our faces.
The sudden emergence of a new generation of
Indian cricketers is surely a food for thought,
and it would be fair to say that Rahul’s vision
for the future has started bearing ripe fruits
already. Opportunities are the key for any
cricketer to express his talent and get noticed
and it is indeed heartening to see this
phenomenon happening under the leadership of
Rahul Dravid. And what is more delightful than
seeing these young bunch of talents making their
mark by delivering to their captain’s needs !
The youth to an extent form an integral part of
any cricketing side – mainly because of their
approach to the game, the extra degree of
exuberance they bring into the side along with
the fresh legs and approaches of course. Rahul
has done exceedingly well in tapping and
nurturing talented players like MS Dhoni, Irfan
Pathan, Sreesanth, RP Singh and Munaf Patel by
giving them the right platform to bring out
their skills and talents. For now, it would
surely be safe to say – A Generation Awakens !"
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