So, after all the speculation about whether Sachin Tendulkar should simply say, "Ah, forget the 100 hundreds, let's enjoy life again" or VVS Laxman should simply shrug his shoulders and admit he can't cut it any more, it's actually the man who had the best 2011 of any batsmen in the world who has become the first of the veteran Indian trio to announce his retirement, Rahul Dravid.
Tendulkar is the one with all the batting records, the most runs, centuries, appearances, etc, but behind all the great strokemakers there are the grafters, the anchors, the batsmen who can hold up one end while the flamboyant idols do their stuff at the other. Rahul Dravid could fulfil tat role and more. He was more than just a 'Wall'; he could go for his shots, too. More than 10,000 ODI runs included almost 1000 boundaries, 42 of them sixes. He is also second only to his long-time Indian middle-order partner in Test aggregate too (at 13,288), although Ricky Ponting is poised to overtake him. Rahul may be 2000 runs behind Sachin but he did give him seven years' and 24 Tests' head start!
I was so delighted last summer to have an opportunity to witness the Taunton electronic scoreboard display both the names Dravid and Tendulkar, albeit briefly. How I'd have loved to have been there for his memorable 145 alongside Ganguly in the 1999 World Cup, or Eden Gardens for that 180 in partnership with Laxman to turn defeat into a stunning Test victory over Australia. In 2002, he scored four successive centuries, three in England, before striking three 'doubles' inside just over 6 months in 2003-4, culminating in his career-best 270 against Pakistan. Not even the Little Master has passed the 250 mark, so there!
However, like many top batsmen, his record in South Africa is relatively modest, and Sri Lanka hasn't been a happy hunting ground either. That's not to say he is a poor traveller; he averages far more in Pakistan (almost 80!), England (69) and West Indies (66) than on home soil. If it wasn't for sharing the limelight with Tendulkar, Laxman and Sehwag for more than a decade, Rahul Dravid would be mentioned amongst the all-time greats, have become a KBE and be feted wherever he goes. Actually he does have a world Test record which Tendulkar will never match: the most Test catches in a career. His 210 stands proud in the history books, although that man Ponting is only 17 behind, and even Mahela Jayawardene may have enough years remaining to narrow the 29-catch gap.
Not that Rahul Dravid is the sort of man who boasts about records. He comes across as a thinker, as calm as steady on the stage as he is on the pitch. He speaks quietly and intelligently and he makes you want to listen. I can only hope that he gives Indian cricket the benefit of his wisdom in the future - and I don't mean hiding behind the TV microphone.
People will debate who was the fairest of them all but, while I do not hesitate to say that Tendulkar ticks all the batting boxes, Brian Lara was the most exhilarating to watch and Ricky Ponting the most pugnacious, Rahul Dravid is up there as one of the most consistent and authoritative Test batsmen of his generation, perhaps in my lifetime. He deserves all the plaudits, as well as his chance to put his weary feet up while younger men have to emerge from his shadow and do the work at the crease for a change!
