Dravid, timeless

Rahul Dravid has left cricket in pretty much the safe way he arrived – unassuming but outwardly proud and strong.

I first watched him in 96 on debut. Before turning around test matches from the dead. Before pulverising the then World Champions Sri Lanka in a format many thought he wasn’t capable of playing in the first place.

That day he didn’t bat at no3 – a place where a whole generation of fans have never not seen him bat at. But he stroked his way through an elegant innings with shots that would eventually become his trademarks. And put his side into a winning position from a tricky situation.

Looking back now it feels as if though that innings was the first brick in the monument of a career he would contruct. Laced with thosetrademark shots and batting – often singlehandedly – for the whole and not the part.

You cannot talk about Dravid the cricketer without looking at Dravid the man – as so perfectly highlighed by Sambit Ball

And Dravid the man teaches us many lessons. Not just about cricket. But about life in general

Hard work. Perseverance. Bloodymindedness. Being individual in the face of change. And above all humility in defeat and in triumph. A quality that is as rare in modern culture as Dravid is in modern day cricket.

Thanks for the lessons, We will miss you.