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Although players who are impacted by trolling, abuse
on social media, and hashtags that are paid to trend may think that their
predecessors had it easier, they also experienced difficulties with fanaticism.
They may even contend that in the past, it was more extreme. Or even more
recently, in 2007, following India’s elimination from the World Cup in the
opening round.
If you believed what was said and intimated in the
media, Rahul Dravid was just a submissive captain who allowed Greg Chappell,
the villainous coach, to run the team to ruin.
Dravid endured a torturous press conference the day
India was eliminated from the World Cup, during which he was genuinely asked if
he was concerned about the security situation at home. One could argue that you
can stop cyberbullying by ignoring today’s memes or logging off of social
media, but how can you stop physical threats to your family’s and your own
health?
However, memes don’t always have to be harmful. They
can also tell a clever story, like the one that just came out with David.
Everything is there for it to become viral. Cricket, feelings, the redemption
story, and the Bollywood king. The meme compares Dravid with Shah Rukh Khan’s
character from Chak De India. Despite being “disgraced” as captains,
both went on to win world championships as coaches. Neither of them achieved
popularity or recognition as coaches right away.
However, memes shouldn’t be interpreted literally. In
actuality, Dravid didn’t enlist a group of unknown players or do it in an
attempt to find atonement. It has long escaped him that he was a player. As a
professional coach, he doesn’t even think that his teams can benefit from
having cricket players on them. And he took over a very successful team that
included some of the world’s top and fiercest professionals.
Those with more information than just the outcomes
claim that Dravid and Rohit Sharma’s leadership instituted appropriate
procedures for performance evaluations and planning, emphasising execution
above results. They introduced a level of sophistication and procedure to
readiness; every aspect—from data to pitches to techniques—was thoroughly
examined. Through effective communication, they provided a certain amount of
comfort. Players had a far better understanding of their positions, roles, and
potential for growth.
As the coach of India, Dravid has worked with a lot of
players that came through him at the developmental stages. He’s worked in
Under-19 or India A teams with Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan,
Shreyas Iyer, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, and even Kuldeep Yadav when he
was injured. That’s where Dravid genuinely contributed to creating a talent
pipeline for the national squad.
Dravid made what may have been his greatest
contribution to this team from the moment Rohit was consistently available as
captain, carrying their intentions into the present day. It required some
persuasion to understand that, even in the rare instances where collapses
occurred when aiming for above-par totals, a full blowout was rarely the
result. He was collaborating with no less than Tendulkar or Ganguly, two
superstars.
During the World Cup, India appeared to be a team
whose full potential had been realised, possibly for the first time since they
were at full strength under Dravid. It won’t detract from their improvement if
they continue to play similar cricket and the outcome is that one exceptional
blowout. Even still, a championship victory would be especially memorable for a
squad that was cruelly mocked for finishing out of the tournament despite
having a strong record in the league.
And maybe the coach will linger over the scenes from
the dressing room during India’s 2007 Port-of-Spain defeat to Sri Lanka –
Tendulkar, Dravid, Anil Kumble, Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, and Yuvraj Singh, the
cricketing royalty, all sitting sullen and on the edge of tears as wicket after
wicket fell. Yuvraj, Tendulkar, and Sehwag were given another chance at World
Cup success, and they seized it. Some didn’t. Not all people do.
Perhaps the coach will simply laugh it all off with
another meme that features Bollywood’s king after that.