India's most respected cricketer finds his captaincy under scrutiny

Dravid's moment of reckoning

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan

April 5, 2007

Rahul Dravid: at the centre of this crisis, yet nowhere © AFP

It began with Chappell v Ganguly and ended with Chappell v the seniors. Through the 22 months of the former coach's term, there was speculation about Chappell v Zaheer, Chappell v Sehwag and Chappell v Harbhajan; even, in the last few days, Chappell v Tendulkar. There's something missing here - had a Martian landed in India last week, he'd have thought Greg Chappell was the captain of the Indian cricket team.

Indeed, there is no captain at the moment but Rahul Dravid held the post through most of Chappell's tenure - and seems to have been airbrushed from memory. One would expect a captain to be at the centre of the storm, especially after such an embarrassing World Cup ouster, but barely a question has been addressed to him, much less an answer got out of him, regarding the current imbroglio. It's his side in a crisis, his players who appear to have had a problem with the coach, his team that has disappointed on the field. He is at the centre of it all - yet he is nowhere.

Analysing Dravid the captain isn't easy. He was appointed amid controversy, the scars of which remained throughout his tenure, and his approach was completely different from his predecessor's. One might be tempted to remember only the listless, glum captain who constantly chewed his nails as his side went down to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in the World Cup but it wasn't always thus.

He believed in leading by example - his twin half-centuries at Kingston, which enabled India to pull off a historic series win, a classic case in point - and was always in a position to demand more of his players. His commitment was never in doubt - one player even went to the extent of terming his work ethic as "scary".

Nor, as India embarked on a thrilling, record-breaking run of wins, was his tactical acumen; he delayed Power Plays, set innovative fields, and won a few games through his intelligent reading of the situation. The vast majority who had thought him India's best vice-captain and deserving of a long stint in the captaincy, felt vindicated.

The players still respect Dravid but are hurt that he supported "him" (Chappell) rather than "us"; a bond has been strained.

Yet even at that time question marks hovered round Dravid's off-field captaincy. He was often perceived as "aloof" and, during India's tour of West Indies last year, where they won a Test series after 35 years, he was criticised for "not having enough time" for the rest.

All the while, he seemed to be in sync with Chappell's vision, due more to a genuine belief in the "process" rather than the persuasion of a dominating coach. He tried his best to change the way the team approached its cricket. He was keen on bringing in a professional approach and eager on building a new team - terms like "my team" and "my boys" were often heard early in his tenure.

Contrary to popular perception, though, he wasn't merely Chappell's enforcer but implemented several ideas of his own. Despite severe opposition, and possibly despite his own reservations, he famously backed the inclusion of Sehwag and Harbhajan in the World Cup squad.

For a while the juniors fell in line. Some of the senior players had their apprehensions but India kept winning and, typically, everything else was forgotten. Things were made harder when the losses began to pile up; with every loss, the senior players were more convinced that Dravid was buying too much into Chappell's philosophy. It was a time he should have stamped his authority on the side, instead the players felt he was drifting away.

'With every loss, the senior players were more convinced that Dravid was buying too much into Chappell's philosophy' © AFP

What made it harder was the breakdown of trust between the coach and a few players, a situation perpetuated largely by Chappell's single biggest failing - his propensity to criticise the players, especially after one defeat or another, off the record to the media. That is now seen as a major factor in the rift between Chappell and the players, a rift that simmered for close to a year before boiling over in the past week. Dravid wasn't oblivious to the situation and should have anticipated the falling-out much earlier.

The players still respect Dravid but are hurt that he supported "him" (Chappell) rather than "us"; a bond has been strained.

Yet Dravid's toughest test may well be on Friday, when he deposes before the BCCI. For someone who has prided himself on diplomacy and an ability to please everyone, he will have to stand up and state his case. There may not be much room for the middle ground; he will either have to go with his team-mates or the coach.

With the coach gone and the players unhappy and unwilling to play under him, Dravid finds himself marooned. He may be retained as captain but that will depend on several factors, the choice of a new coach being of primary importance. Will the players rally behind him again? Will he even want to take up the job, if offered? These questions will be answered in a couple of days but it's impossible to miss the irony: the country's best batsman, one of the greatest ever, is currently the loneliest man in Indian cricket.

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan is assistant editor of Cricinfo

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