Dravid prepares for a fresh start

On October 25, and in the days immediately preceding it, Rahul Dravid will pad up for a fresh challenge. For long, he has said that it barely matters to him whether he is captain of India or not. But in recent times it has become increasingly clear that the post is something he was desirous of.

And it is but natural that he should harbour such an ambition. He has proven himself as a batsman, over and over, in times when the team has needed him most. He is dependable, solid, intelligent and popular among his peers. The team is suffering from a crisis of leadership, and has been slightly rudderless in the last year or so. He believes he can make a difference as captain. He cares deeply about the fortunes of the side and would rather be in a position to right the wrongs than watch from the sidelines.

But it is not going to be easy. Some would say the captaincy should have come to him easier, and earlier. Others would argue - equally loudly - that Sourav Ganguly has been unfairly ousted. They will suggest that India's winningest captain deserved a longer rope and that it was only a matter of time before he regained form once more. Only hindsight will reveal what the best course was.

For now, though, the selectors have chosen Dravid over Ganguly and charged him with turning things around in this Indian team. Currently ranked No. 7 in the ICC rankings for one-day international teams - only West Indies, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh are ranked lower - the only way to go for this team is up. But for Dravid there is plenty at stake. For him there is more to lose than to gain. Sachin Tendulkar averages 44.43 in all ODIs, and 37.75 as captain; Ganguly's respective numbers are 40.65 and 37.66. Dravid has not led India enough yet for us to judge, but in his stand-in appearances - and too much should not be read into this - he averages 36.86 as against 39.20 overall.

Dravid has to ensure that the burden of captaincy sits as lightly on his shoulders as possible, for he is too valuable a batsman for India to sacrifice at the altar of captaincy. He has to ensure that he makes the most of the chance offered by Indian cricket - captain and coach working together with a long-term vision for the future. In Greg Chappell, the coach, Dravid has someone who could be a powerful ally, an influential thinker and an instrument of powerful change. But he must be wary of the pitfalls ahead, and stay true to his own vision as a cricketer. He cannot be the shouting-from-rooftops, chest-baring leader Ganguly was. Yet he has to find a way of bringing a diverse group of cricketers - and it's the talented ones that tend to be difficult - together and forging the team into a unit.

As John Heider wrote in The Tao of Leadership, "The wise leader is of service: receptive, yielding, following. The group members' vibration dominates and leads, while the leader follows. But soon it is the members' consciousness which is transformed. It is the job of the leader to be aware of the group members' process; it is the need of the group member to be received and paid attention to. Both get what they need, if the leader has the wisdom to lead and follow."