History\\'s lesson: All the great teams need a Dravid.

(From Indian Express)

Let's not get too maudlin about this, shall we? Or, as many have of late, climb on the Rahul Dravid bandwagon. As if it was unknown before Trent Bridge and Headingley that he has long had remarkable talents and skilled strokeplay and concentration levels of the old-fashioned variety. For someone who has watched over his career since Trent Bridge in 1996, as if it was required reading for those wanting a case study in elegance and style, the memory of 40-plus Test innings has become habit-forming: a little like those of someone following a cult. Not just any cult, but the Rahul Dravid cult; the man with the patience to be labelled 'The Wall' by an unthinking media with nothing better to do than make up labels. Most are too young these days to remember, or even have an idea of, the style and purity of Len Hutton, the daring and elegance of Polly Umrigar or Vinoo Mankad, the fashionable stylist of Conrad Hunte, the brilliance of Bert Sutcliffe or that acme of perfection of a near-forgotten era, Sidath Wettimuny. Okay, so what do they all have in common? And with Dravid? Sir Len HuttonBert SutcliffePolly UmrigarVinoo Mankad Depending on your era, the six names may mean something; or nothing. Two were geniuses in their own immaculate right: Hutton and Hunte, pure perfection and with sublime technical skills. One played for England and was captain, but too often hidden by the shadow of Denis Compton; the other played for the West Indies and, as in the Dravid mould, seemed forever destined to play second to Sir Garfield Sobers. Mankad and Umrigar complemented each other in an era long forgotten by all but fusty historians; yet there was, in 1946, when the side toured England, the sublime talent of Vijay Merchant and Mankad. While Merchant was more in keeping with the Dravid image on that tour, Mankad did the double; rare that two such geniuses to come from what is the rich tapestry of the Indian game. New Zealand's Bert Sutcliffe was the left-hander golden haired stylist who at one stage was the ultimate Kiwi batting hero yet seemed to play in the shadow of John Reid. Then there is John Wright, the Indian coach who fulfilled the Dravid role while Martin Crowe earned all the bouquets. As for South Africa, the talent, style and brilliance of Daryll Cullinan has, it seems disappeared amid the shadows of uncertainty in a World Cup summer. While Jacques Kallis did not actually play in Cullinan's shadow, Gary Kirsten seemed to have fitted into that role. In the team dismantled by politics and racism, Barry Richards and Graeme Pollock were the big names in 1969/70 while Eddie Barlow was often the one who on occasion stepped out from the wings to take his rightful place when awards were being handed out. Now it is Dravid of Leeds, of Durban and The Wanderers, Kolkata and Galle and Asgiriya, Georgetown and Nottingham. Here is a man at home with his game plan; he is organised and knows what he has to do. Batting for India at three in a Test needs special class and special talent. What is impressive about ...