I’m not walking away: Dravid

Over the past one year, Rahul Dravid has not been the batsman he is known to be. But the former India captain tells DNA that he has learnt a lot from his recent failures. Excerpts...

How much of your cricket is played in the mind?
Before the start of a Test or a series, I analyse the bowlers I am going to face — their strengths, weaknesses and the lengths they bowl at. Is there anything new they might have learnt? It is good to recreate some of the success you have had in the past to just get a good confidence feeling.

VVS Laxman has expressed a desire to play in an Indian team that is ranked No.1. Do you want that?
Rankings are not fully dependent on what you do. You need someone else to beat someone else to come up in the rankings. The only thing you can focus on is play good cricket and win every series. Yes, it would be nice to be among the top two or three teams. But if we play good cricket consistently, then we will be in a good position in the rankings.

You had a tough time last season although you have crossed the 10,000-run mark in Tests and made a significant contribution in Mohali.
It was nice to score runs again. I felt I was batting well in the nets. But I wasn’t getting the runs. So it feels good that you have those runs behind your back. All in all, it has been a challenging year, but I think there is a lot of satisfaction derived from the team’s successes. I try to enjoy the successes and even the failures and take things in the right spirit. It has been a great year of learning for me. I have not got too disheartened or disappointed with the failures nor gone too over the top with the successes that I have had.

You were pretty subdued after reaching your hundred in the first innings of the Mohali Test against England.
I was not trying to give any message. I was happy, satisfied and I was just being the way I was. I raised my bat and acknowledged it. I have never been the one who thinks that I have to jump up and show any external reaction… I can be happy even if I have just raised my bat.

Going back over the past year or so, you haven’t been able to score runs in the manner that matches your high standards. What do you put that down to?
I haven’t done as well as I would have liked to. I am the first one to admit it. If I had to put a finger on it, I would have solved it by now. But I haven’t been able to put a finger on what has gone wrong because in the nets things are fine. I have certain cues and certain things that tell me that I am playing good cricket and it generally translates into runs. The kind of positions I get myself into and the mental state of mind that I am in… it has been pretty good. So for me, it’s just about believing in myself, and hoping that things will turn around. I am just training hard. That’s all that I can do. Learn to relax and enjoy the game… and whatever will be, will be.

After playing for well over a decade and making 10,000 runs in both forms of the game, has this slump in form left you perplexed?
Perplexed… It happens. I wouldn’t say it doesn’t leave you confused but it also helps you appreciate the good times you have had. I mean, sometimes you can go through a good period for such a long time that you can take things for granted. And then you go thorough a tough period and then you actually realise… In some ways, it helps you appreciate the success you have had and it helps you appreciate how difficult scoring runs can actually be.

Were you taken aback or surprised by the attention you got when you were not scoring too many runs?
I just got on with it. I was never surprised. I have always scored runs so when I wasn’t scoring runs, there was going to be a certain amount of attention. Cricket in India has a huge amount of scrutiny and a huge amount of following. So you are going to expect that kind of scrutiny when you are not doing well. I was just realistic and said: ‘This is the way things are and this is the way things are going to be and I just have to focus on things. I still retain a sense of enjoyment and joy for the game.

Do you still retain the passion for the game? Or have you said to yourself, especially over the past one year, ‘’I am a father now; I have a son who is growing up… the runs are not flowing… it’s time to go’.  
Such thoughts never crossed my mind. Sometimes, maybe to some extent, your priorities may change a bit, but no, I don’t think I ever thought of it (walking away). I still love the game and I still enjoy playing it. I still love the contest even if it is a Ranji game or a Duleep game. I still have the ability to keep improving. Whenever I have had time, I have trained and worked hard as anyone else and I never felt that that training was a pain. I get a lot of joy and satisfaction in just coming and training and batting in the nets.

How do you see it shaping up from here?
Like I said, I just try and enjoy it and hopefully I will know that when I am not enjoying it. The thumb rule is as long as I can enjoy… coming to the gym, practising and training... I will keep doing it. Hopefully, I will get to know some day when I am not enjoying it and that will be the time to walk away.