Rahul Dravid, the stand-in Indian captain, is a man of many words, but only when he is off the field
If Sachin Tendulkar is an icon, Rahul Dravid is no mean achiever. To live under the shadow of a great and try to match him, off and on the field, is an onerous task. But Rahul Dravid, nicknamed “The Wall”, for being solid and stubborn on the 22-yard square whenever he bats for India, has been a leading performer for India.
Once, regarded a misfit in the limited over version of the game, Dravid took up the challenge of wicketkeeping which helped India to include an extra batsman in the One-Day squad.
Off the field he has been a true ambassador for his country. Cool and decent, he impresses the way he talks and is more expressive than any of the Indian players. Here are the detailed excerpts of an interview, during the media access session in Multan.
Question: Do you resent playing in the same period as Sachin?
Dravid: I have never tried to compare myself with Sachin, never looked that way. Sachin is a great cricketer and he gets all the attention. But with it comes the pressure of expectations as well. So it’s not a one way thing for him.
I have a share of my publicity and I am happy. It’s a matter of pride to play with Sachin. He carries himself very well and I am proud to share the dressing room with him.
Q: How lucky you feel you are on playing for India?
A: It’s an honour to have played for India. A great honour to have played along side Sachin Tendulkar and people like Ganguly and Kumble. It has been an honour to be part of such a special team and play with guys like these.
I am lucky and not many people get this honour.
Q: How do you see your role in the star studded batting line up?
A: I see my role as one of the guys who play the senior member of the team. I try to play a role which helps the team, take it in the right direction. It’s also important to guide others and do your best with the bat.
Q: India’s tour to Pakistan after 15 years is seen as a “very special” one. How do you see this tour?
A: Different tour to be honest; we came here for a short tour in 1997 and landed from Toronto and there were no preparations.
This one is a bit more relaxed because the last time we played three games in five days. We have a chance to travel and to go around the country and have seen more places. Between games we have two or three days off and it’s much different. A nice trip and we have enjoyed this trip. We knew touring Pakistan would totally be different and this tour has proved different.
Q: Did you have any misconceptions about Pakistan that it would be a security risk to tour the country and people would be hostile?
A: To be honest, I never had any misconceptions about Pakistan, there are things that you read and see on television and the perceptions are not only about Pakistan, but also about India as well. It’s wrong to come to judgment and I didn’t jump on to conclusion before coming to Pakistan. I wanted to see it and obviously what I didn’t expect was the warm reception by the crowds, not only for cricket but there is a lot of friendship seen during the series.
The crowds supported both the teams and it has not only surprised me, I was also very pleased to see this kind of reaction. You are very used to playing in games where both teams rarely get the equal support. It’s a nice trend that both teams were supported. Of course, Pakistanis would want Pakistan to win and Indians would want India to win but the support for us has been tremendous.
Q: Do you think that this tour will be a landmark towards building peace and harmony between Pakistan and India?
A: I would call it landmark simply because we are here after 15 years. Whether it fulfils any other purpose is a byproduct of the cricket, then that is great. But the goal is not to achieve that. There are lots of things going into achieving the cause of bringing two nations closer. Lots of things that go into that is the very fact that so many Indians came over. Maybe a byproduct of that, which might help in some small way.
If it has helped then that is great. But I don’t think that, you know, every time there is a problem, you send a cricket tour. It is not going to be used as a byproduct. In it’s little way it might contribute. It is a landmark tour but cricket should not stop.
Q: Did the hype over security arrangements in Pakistan had any adverse effect on the Indian team?
A: There was a lot of talk about the security but people around us have been more kind, hospitable and they allowed us to relax.
The hospitality is tremendous and I can’t say whether it’s suffocating but it has been accurate. We have been looked after very well on this tour.
Q: Indian team had a successful and satisfying tour of Australia. Do you think that was the turning point to get mentally motivated for a tour like Pakistan?
A: I won’t say the Australian tour was the turning point but I would definitely say that it gave us a good benchmark to judge us whether we are moving in the right direction. It allowed us to judge that the effort of the last three years was in the right direction. We need to improve a lot, but the Australian tour told us that we had the makings and were doing well after doing well against the best team in the world.
Irfan Pathan and Balaji were the finds of the tour. We did us well as a team. Openers did well and in terms of direction the tour to Australia gave us a good chance to learn about.
Q: Why is Australia so special; why are they dominating the world of cricket?
A: Australia is the best simply because they have a very good system in place. Look at their domestic setup; it is the best and it is no surprise that they produce the best cricketers in the world. Their system is productive, they have only seven states, seven first class team and if 20 play for a team they have 140 cricketers and it’s best against the best.
In England you have 19 counties and with 20 in each side it’s too much for a small country like England. I am not saying that England’s system is not good but from players’ point of view Australian domestic structure is the best. They have a good vision not only in play but in the administration and it’s no surprise that they are the best.
Q: So why can’t other countries match Australia?
A: That is a combination of things, each country is unique. In Australia they have been funded by governments but in Pakistan and India there are other issues as well and sport is not the top priority. There are much more important issues and areas which need funding.
For example if you live in the outskirts in Australia I am sure you have a turf wicket to practice on. But in India and Pakistan you struggle to find one. As a larger picture there are so many other issues. There is economics, how the sports are taken. Education is the critical factor and there is the fact that how many people will allow their kids to take sport as a career.
Q: There is a lot of criticism on the Indian players for doing commercials. Does that have an effect on performance and is it a distraction?
A: My only answer to people who question over our commercialization is that unless you do well in your field no one would give you endorsement. To be a cricketer would not be enough to get endorsement, there is no way you get reward without success. If you don’t do well on the cricket fields, no one would give you any endorsement. Cricket has changed in India there is no doubt about it. I mean commercial aspects have come in the game but with it the pressures have also come, its lot more.
Players are under more scrutiny than they were when I started the game in 1996. Pressure and challenges have increased, it’s so easy to say that cricketers do ads and don’t pay attention to the game.
But logically it doesn’t exist. If a guy doesn’t perform he doesn’t exist. Tell me a guy who doesn’t perform and is doing ads? There are world’s best athletes and India is just growing up to this.
Look at the Schumachers, look at the Samprases, look at the Agassis and they are world best and have endorsements. That doesn’t affect their performance. There is one driving force and that is how you succeed and money comes with it. This commercialization is good for the grass roots and the more commercialization and marketability that comes, the more it’s good for the game.
Sachin and Lara are world-class players and cricket needs such heroes to inspire. Look at your squash. You don’t have stars like Jahangir and Jansher any more and where is the sport in Pakistan now?
Q: Do you make set goals for yourselves in the game?
A: I have set goals and personal targets. So, what I want to achieve so I am going toward that.
Rahul Dravid, the stand-in Indian captain, is a man of many words, but only when he is off the field 
