Rahul Dravid the legend of Indian cricket who is soon to step up as the head coach of India is considered as one of the gentle and disciplined sportspersons of the country. His attitude toward the game is always top notch and his self discipline stands above all. One such instance where he opposed a compliment in a subtle way is reminisced by a yet another legend Mr. Ramchandra Guha. Ramachandra Guha, in his book ‘The Commonwealth of Cricket’, revealed that ths cricket legend Rahul Dravid, soon to be head coach of the Indian team, once politely told him to ‘shut up’ about cricket.
Guha’s Compliment For Dravid
The ‘historian’ said that Rahul Dravid responded to his unsolicited cricketing advice with words that carried the suggestion that he should stick to history instead of opining on cricket. In 2007, Rahul Dravid was the captain for a series versus England. Known as a great slip fielder, Dravid was standing at mid-off.
Consequently, Ramachandra Guha wrote to him saying, “You are quite possibly the finest Test batsman in Indian cricket history, and without question the finest slip fielder ever produced by India in ALL forms of the game. You must field there. I understand that with your somewhat erratic bowling you feel the need to be close at hand to guide them. But, all things considered. I think that slip is the place for you, and for the team. No one else in India is remotely as good as you, which is why all these catches go down in the early overs.”
Dravid’s Subtle Response
The reply from Dravid came a few days later. He said, ‘You are right… all our history seemed to stop with Gandhi and there’s actually so much that’s happened since for us to be where we are 60 years later. I finished about 180 pages so a fair way to go. Would love to talk about it and much more.’
Ramachandra Guha believed that the reply from the legendary Indian batsman was a polite way of telling him that his advice was neither wanted nor desirable. Guha wrote, “My email to Dravid was unsolicited, unprompted and impertinent—akin in cricketing terms to a bouncer from a bowler of military medium pace, it was dispatched to the boundary with a flick of the wrists. The put-down was decisive; and yet so delicately worded. I was told, in the kindest possible manner, to shut up about strategy in cricket and go back to writing history books. (I did.)”. This shows how disciplined Dravid was, without offending the frontman he has a unique talent of putting up his opinions.
Source : Opnidia
