By Gaurang - 18 Nov, '02
November 18 2002

Rahul Dravid of late has been doing a fair impression of Clark Kent and his alter ego, the one with the red underpants, and the BIG "S" on his chest. Off the field Rahul is as mild mannered as they come. He is bookish and sensitive, and though he doesn't seem to wear geeky glasses like Clark, he certainly has that innocent, slightly goofy, charm that the Lois Lanes of the world find attractive, despite themselves.

It helps that unlike the hero of Metropolis, there is no mystery about what happens when a crisis strikes and he dissappears, not into a phone booth, but into the nearest cricket dressing room. Out strides "Superman". He can run between wickets faster than a speeding VVS, he can leap and take catches higher than a flying Patel, and he can defend Metropolis, umm, OK his wickets, like no other...

But we all know that Supermen exists only in comic books. In real life he is as susceptible to burn-out, injury, stress, and pain as anybody else, even if he does not think so.

Dravid is such a team man that he will not ask for the gloves to be taken from him, nor will he ask that he be moved down the order, so that he only has to bat, if necessary. Remember, when all the key players went home after the first match against Zimbabwe in the ICC Knock out, he was the only veteran to hang around in Colombo, even though Bangalore is a lot closer than either Mumbai or Kolkata.

Actually he is such a dedicated cricketer that after taking the gloves he has IMPROVED his ODI batting to such an extent that he is unrecognizable from the somewhat stodgy strike hogger, he was just a few short matches ago.

The experiment to use Dravid as a Wicket keeper/Batsman in ODIs has paid rich rewards. But the team must not kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. This bird must be treated very delicately, and with understanding, if India want it to lay the ultimate prize, i.e. the World Cup.

For his own sake Dravid needs a rest, so give him one, even if he never asks for it!