They call him ‘The Wall’. He’s the rock-solid foundation that kept many matches on their feet till the end. Consistency thy name is Rahul Dravid

In a cricket besotted nation, with legends like Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil Dev in its arsenal, Rahul Dravid’s name commands respect and has become almost synonymous with consistency. Everyone loves a man they can count on, right?

Brett Lee punches his hand in the air, Sourav Ganguly removes his shirt and waves it in the air; but there are no histrionics on the field when this cool dude is at the crease, just a quiet confident look at the bowler whenever the ball goes bounding to the boundary, as if to say, ‘Of course, it’s a four, whatever were you expecting?’ Now that’s attitude!

Yes, yes, we know he shattered many, many hearts when he tied the knot. He’s endearingly bashful when he talks about his personal life; just a small smile, a slight reddening of his cheeks and halting answers — that’s all you’ll get out of this shy guy!

While he was studying at St Joseph’s College of Commerce, he had to remain absent for long stretches to participate in the under 19 team, but he never used this as an excuse to fall back in his exams. No, this sincere fellow maintained a first class record throughout.

In true Indian ‘ishtyle’, he struck his first ball on the streets of Karnataka with a bunch of other kids. All that paid off when he played in the Ranji Trophy in 1991. He walked in at number seven and batted off an amazing 82! How’s that for a splendid debut?

He rose steadily, as is his manner, and sparked brilliance on the field in 1996 in the international team. He is technique and grace personified as he watches the ball, swings the bat and strikes it away with impeccable footwork and raw power. Did we mention class yet?

He received a lot of flak for his low strike rate. People called him ‘the snail’, accused him of wasting balls. But he plodded along, knowing he couldn’t be rash and lose his wicket in a game. Incidentally, these very people look at the line-up in a match-losing situation and sigh with relief, ‘Well, at least Dravid’s still there.’ Touché!

He’s worked on his strike rate and bats a real dynamite innings quite often. No one can forget the way he punished Allan Donald with his aggressive boundaries and sixers in a crucial match. He never fails to rise to the occasion, this one!

Dravid is now a vital part of the team. He is Vice-Captain, a batsman to reckon with, and a level headed team player. You’ll never see this guy losing his presence of mind in a crisis situation. His team-mates have often said that he is a soothing presence on the field. Oh, and he bowls occasionally and keeps wicket too. Is there anything on the field this man can’t do?

Ask him about his female fans and the blush returns. He once said in an interview, “It’s not about me, it’s the game that makes me important. Today it’s me; tomorrow it will be someone else. The game is much bigger than the players.” Humility always gets us going, we kid you not!

Rahul has been ranked the fourth best Test batsman in the world by Wisden for the period starting May 1997. As far as we are concerned, this man is Numero Uno all the way!