'I just want to play good cricket and yeah, doing it for someone is totally against who I am as a person and what I believe in.'
A stickler when it comes to keeping time, Rahul Dravid was once unusually late to a reading session at a bookstore in Bengaluru. But Dravid settled in the back row with other invitees for the entire duration of the event without any fuss.
He politely declined the organisers' request to move up the row. Dravid never really wished for the front seat or the glare of the world. It's just not his zone.
But on Saturday, irrespective of the outcome, the India head coach will have to stand in full view of the cricketing world when his side takes on South Africa in the T20 World Cup final at Bridgetown, Barbados.
The 51-year-old has already got a prelude to it as the host broadcasters are running a #DoItForDravid trend on social media.
But it is as un-Rahul Dravid as anything one can ever think of.
For Dravid, winning the World Cup is not a moment for personal glory but he would certainly broaden it out to the team effort and to Rohit Sharma's inspired leadership.
The man himself made it clear, and the words reflected his sagacity.
"I just want to play good cricket and yeah, doing it for someone is totally against who I am as a person and what I believe in. So, I don't want to talk about it and discuss it," Dravid told Star Sports.
He was emphatic while slipping in a reminder about the ethos which he followed so diligently over the years.
"I don't really believe in this 'Do it for somebody'. I love that quote about somebody asking somebody else, 'Why do you want to climb Mount Everest?' and he says 'I want to climb Mount Everest because it's there'.
"I want to win this World Cup because it's there. It's not for anyone, it's not for anybody, it's just there to win," Dravid asserted.
Bookmark these sentences as a study material for endearing simplicity and selflessness.
If one needs further validation, there was this one instance well over a decade ago.
Dravid was in blazing form during India's tour to England in 2011, emerging as their leading run-scorer even as the visitors sank without a trace in the Tests.
The retirement question was hanging directly over his head but the Bengaluru man scoffed at it, saying his focus was on the year-end trip to Australia, a country where he made a truckload of runs.
But Dravid was quick to ward off any personal motivation behind his desire to travel to Australia.
"We need a series win in Australia. Personally, I thought I owe it to the team," he would say then.
That is his zone.
Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman could immerse in their incandescent shot-making in the comfort that Dravid was there to absorb the blows and pressure.
Twelve years down the line, Dravid is in a similar situation and he is not complaining.
If India lift the World Cup at the Kensington Oval, a lot of credit will go to Rohit and his wards, and if they don't bricks will be flying in the direction of Dravid as well.
Mobbed by jubilant team members and fans or a lonely walk back, Dravid, rest assured, will treat both with equanimity.
