The Diary of Rahul Dravid

April 22, 1991: Dear diary,

Today was the first day I seriously considered a career in cricket. Parents want that I do my engineering, but I know they will support me if I told them about it.

Tarapore sir spoke to me today and I felt confident about it. It has always been there, somewhere at the back of my mind. If there was anyone stopping me, it is my doubts. I have only been playing the game for seven years now, and there are some who have been playing for more than a decade now. There are so many who are better, but after Tarapore sir spoke to me about it, I felt I have a chance.

Will speak to dad.

23 June, 96 – All those classes I (unwillingly) bunked, all those hours at the net, have finally borne fruit. My father would have been proud!

I had seen it a thousand times in my head before it happened, but walking into Lords with my bat, I had no words to describe the feeling. I was in the middle with this other new guy called Dada. He has a bit of an attitude, that guy, but he’s a nice bloke.

Batting in England is not as difficult as I thought. I stuck to the basics, and the ball seemed to be hitting the bat nicely. I could not make a century though, so I guess the name of the board can wait.

The team is a nice outfit. There are guys I looked upto, like Azhar (What wrists man, that guy!) and youngsters like me, Dada, and Sachin. Even though I had my doubts in the beginning, I think if I can bat out 30 overs in an innings, I have done my job.

But the journey has just begun. Let’s see how it goes from here…

May 21, 1997: Even though the last year has been good for me, getting my place in the ODI team has proven to be a little difficult.

I like the freedom that comes with Tests. I can leave the ones I don’t want to play, and drive the ones I’m absolutely confident about. But One Day cricket has changed so much, and when India scored 306 in Sharjah last year, 300s don’t seem such a big score anymore.

I got my first century today – 107, while chasing, and Chennai was at its hottest! It was satisfying, getting the first ODI century, but the day did not belong to me. Saeed Anwar scored 194 – the highest score in an ODI. It was a nice innings, but Shahid Afridi ran almost 150 of his runs for him.

Take nothing away from Anwar though – brilliant innings! I wish India had some bowlers to support Sri and Venky. I see those guys put in so much effort, bowling in flat conditions at 40 degrees, but there is no one to support them.

But anyway, I think if I put in lots of effort (especially in my shot selection), ODIs will not be as difficult as I thought.

March 15, 2001: WITHOUT DOUBT THE GREATEST MATCH OF CRICKET I HAVE BEEN A PART OF!!!

Eden Gardens is something else!! No matter how much you play here, it feels like home always. As I write this, the resulting madness is yet to sink in. Who would have thought that after being asked to follow on, we would go on to win the match? Bhajji sure is a talent to look out for (he has some temper issues though, and I pity the person who ends up at the receiving end). He took a hattrick, and you should have seen the Australian faces. I was tempted to give them a taste of their own medicine – but I refrained at the last minute. It wouldn’t be the civilised thing to do.

We really needed something like this victory. After last year, the fans had lost respect for the team and the players. Every bad performance was blamed for ‘paison ke liye khelta hai’, and some of the biggest names in our team were disgraced. We really needed something like this.

My innings was satisfying. But the day did not belong to me. Laxman played like he was possessed. What an innings!

Will write more later, Sachin has just opened the bottle of champagne!

23 March 2003: So near yet so far!

We have been working really hard on becoming a competent One Day side over the last few years. The last two years have easily been the best of my career, and thankfully have coincided with an uprising in the Indian team. We are not the genteel, pushovers that we were thought of earlier. Dada has changed we are looked at as a team. I kept wickets throughout the tournament so that we could play an extra batsman, and I think that was crucial to our performance throughout, as many matches had contributions from the likes of Yuvraj and Sanjay Bangar.

We should have fielded better in the final. Also, our lack of bowling experience showed. Sri has been shouldering the burden for long now, and the rest were newbies. It was disheartening, but that’s the game, I guess. There are talks of a new coach being appointed this year. Let’s hope that changes our fortunes for the better.

12 September 2007: I had to take the decision, and I have conveyed my message to the selectors. When Dada was sacked as the captain from the team and I agreed to take over, I had no idea what was in store for me. The disastrous World Cup didn’t help matters at all, and as the captain I take responsibility for the decisions made.

This new guy with long hair – Dhoni, seems quite promising, and Sachin speaks highly of him. He seems to have a calm head over his shoulders and has no issues calling a spade a spade. Something I haven’t been able to do, I must admit.

September16, 2009: When I was recalled into the ODI team after two years, I must admit I was surprised. While many said it was only because we are unable to play in foreign pitches, I don’t see it as a bad thing. It is my team, and I will play for them if they want me to.

What surprised me, however, was that I was dropped a month later, and there was no reason given. I understand the selectors have a high-pressure job and every decision is scrutinised by a cricket-mad nation, but a note explaining a reason. Is that asking for too much?

January 29, 2011: When we set out to Australia in December, few would have thought it would be our worst outing down under in the last decade. I was hopeful of a good show, given the England series. It was disappointing on many levels, and not getting runs was just one of them. Form is temporary – I can deal with that. It was the getting bowled match after match that disappointed me the most. My catching seemed rusty in the series, a problem that has persisted since the England tour.

 

 

March 8, 2012: Woke up to read the newspaper today and read an article about the need for selectors to take ‘bold decisions’. It made me smile. I remembered reading a similar article 19 years ago by Rajan Bala, and I remembered how much hope it gave me. I trained harder in the nets, and read the article again and again, as it seemed that if my efforts were true, they would be rewarded.

It hasn’t been such a bad journey, but it’s time. I know it.