Media hijacked Dravid's farewell
HYDERABAD: For a man who was the spine of India cricket for 15 years, Rahul Dravid had the consternation Thursday of seeing his farewell hijacked by the media -- and his team mates.
A day before the thoughtful cricketer was to formally announce his departure from Test cricket, did the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) jump the gun and schedule a joint press conference for him with BCCI president N Srinivasan?
With news of the impending retirement becoming common knowledge, media across the country went to town with tributes and such like. Twenty-four hours before Dravid was to say his thing, he was inundated with media calls, asking for his 'reaction'.
The word from within Dravid's circle of friends was that the cricketer, a highly nuanced personality, wanted to set the tone for his announcement and was disappointed that the tributes and testimonials, warm though they were, preempted him.
His friends in Bangalore said the cricketer was none too happy that even his team mates played along.
Among the cricketers, past and present, who joined in the frenzy were Sachin Tendulkar, who told a TV channel that 'there can be no other cricketer like Dravid.' Sources close to Dravid didn't enjoy the circus kicked up by the TV channels.
It all started with BCCI announcing a press conference for Dravid Friday. Speculation that the star cricketer was going to announce his retirement from international cricket was fuelled by the fact that BCCI boss N Srinivasan was to share the spotlight with Dravid.
Although Dravid's retirement has been on the cards, it had been expected that he would be given a farewell match as was done in the cases of fellow greats Anil Kumble and Sourav Ganguly.
But with no Test match scheduled until September, it must go down as yet another instance of the quiet man of Indian cricket getting less than his due.
Throughout Indian cricket's glory days, it has been one of the oddities that Dravid's finest hours were persistently overshadowed by another event.
His debut at Lord's in 1996, where he made a luminous 96, was upstaged by Sourav Ganguly's century. And in that staggering fightback against the Australians at Eden Gardens in 2001, his majestic 180 always stood in comparison with the epic 281 scored by V V S Laxman, together scripting one of India's finest sporting victories.
Those who shared Dravid's spotlight have always had the highest respect for the man who was given the dour and unjust title of the Wall but was much, much more.
Displaying some of the understanding he fostered at the Eden, Laxman excused himself from all media requests Thursday to deliver a premature tribute to his partner in glory.
HYDERABAD: For a man who was the spine of India cricket for 15 years, Rahul Dravid had the consternation Thursday of seeing his farewell hijacked by the media -- and his team mates.
A day before the thoughtful cricketer was to formally announce his departure from Test cricket, did the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) jump the gun and schedule a joint press conference for him with BCCI president N Srinivasan?
With news of the impending retirement becoming common knowledge, media across the country went to town with tributes and such like. Twenty-four hours before Dravid was to say his thing, he was inundated with media calls, asking for his 'reaction'.
The word from within Dravid's circle of friends was that the cricketer, a highly nuanced personality, wanted to set the tone for his announcement and was disappointed that the tributes and testimonials, warm though they were, preempted him.
His friends in Bangalore said the cricketer was none too happy that even his team mates played along.
Among the cricketers, past and present, who joined in the frenzy were Sachin Tendulkar, who told a TV channel that 'there can be no other cricketer like Dravid.' Sources close to Dravid didn't enjoy the circus kicked up by the TV channels.
It all started with BCCI announcing a press conference for Dravid Friday. Speculation that the star cricketer was going to announce his retirement from international cricket was fuelled by the fact that BCCI boss N Srinivasan was to share the spotlight with Dravid.
Although Dravid's retirement has been on the cards, it had been expected that he would be given a farewell match as was done in the cases of fellow greats Anil Kumble and Sourav Ganguly.
But with no Test match scheduled until September, it must go down as yet another instance of the quiet man of Indian cricket getting less than his due.
Throughout Indian cricket's glory days, it has been one of the oddities that Dravid's finest hours were persistently overshadowed by another event.
His debut at Lord's in 1996, where he made a luminous 96, was upstaged by Sourav Ganguly's century. And in that staggering fightback against the Australians at Eden Gardens in 2001, his majestic 180 always stood in comparison with the epic 281 scored by V V S Laxman, together scripting one of India's finest sporting victories.
Those who shared Dravid's spotlight have always had the highest respect for the man who was given the dour and unjust title of the Wall but was much, much more.
Displaying some of the understanding he fostered at the Eden, Laxman excused himself from all media requests Thursday to deliver a premature tribute to his partner in glory.
News Posted: 9 March, 2012
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