BENGALURU: After Kumble's straight ones and the occasional googlies on Saturday, visitors to the Bengaluru Lit Fest were treated to Rahul Dravid's off-field elegance on Sunday.
'The wall' was speaking on the second day of the Bangalore Lit Fest here. He was part of a session titled 'India Democracy XI,' referring to journalist Rajdeep Sardesai's book on 11 cricketers. Among the audience were also former cricketers Erapalli Prasanna, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar and Syed Kirmani.
Expounding on the emergence of more cricketers from smaller cities and towns, Dravid said it had to do with the availability of facilities at these places. "Though people knock down IPL and the commercial aspects of cricket, thanks to the money in it, access to facilities is better." He said the recent Ranji match between Karnataka and Hyderabad being held in Shivamogga was a good sign.
Speaking on the increased aggression shown by players in cricket when compared to players earlier, Dravid said, "I do not believe earlier players were not aggressive or mentally tough, it's just that players now are in your face, even literally, they're always in your face on television," he said, leaving the audience in splits.
Defending Virat Kohli's brand of aggression, Dravid said, "Virat sometimes says outrageous things before a series and I cringe when I read them in the paper, but that's what gets the best out of him." However, he expressed concern that crickets at the junior levels tended to copy such things.
Sardesai put Dravid in a tight spot when he asked him whether players had become too powerful. "Kohli can decide who is the coach and Dhoni can decide when to retire," he alleged. Dravid said all coaches got sacked, such is the nature of the profession, and termed the way it had played out in the media as unfortunate for Kumble. About Dhoni, he said, "People might have different opinions on when Dhoni should retire, but if the selectors have selected him, he can play for as long as he wants."
One of the highlights of the session was when the three former cricketers from the audience came on the stage. Sardesai paid them all glowing tributes, and said to the audience, "Like your weather, your people are the most recent I have met."
Dravid hailed their influence on his career and revealed how he was star-struck to find Prasanna was his neighbour when he moved into a new house. "I would see him walking out of his house, and then I would get out to talk to him, but pretend to just happen to be there."