Only Dravid can inspire India

New Delhi: Life cannot be easy at the moment for Rahul Dravid. He may be India's captain.

He may be arguably the finest batsman in the world. But after six months at the helm, he still seems out of place, like a civil servant trying on the Emperor's purple.

The tension got the better of him on Monday. During a chaotic press conference on the eve of yesterday's opening one-dayer, he became so incensed by the usual scrum of photographers that he stormed out of the room.

He soon returned, and posed for snaps alongside Andrew Flintoff and the series trophy. But it was an uncharacteristic huff from this mild-mannered man.

At the start of the tour, Nasser Hussain told The Daily Telegraph that "expectation levels in India put more pressure on the home team than the visitors."

And Dravid has already felt the truth of that. After India failed to beat an England Test side portrayed here as a virtual second XI, the Times of India rated their 14 players in the series out of 10. Only two of them merited more than half-marks.

If Dravid should slip up in this one-day series, as he did with his bizarre decision to bowl first at Mumbai, India's huge and fanatical crowds will turn on him faster than a Shane Warne leg-break.

In contrast to his predecessor, Sourav Ganguly, he has never quite captured the popular vote. The players' nicknames are instructive here. Sachin Tendulkar is "the Master Blaster." Ganguly is "Dada," which translates as elder brother. Dravid is "the Wall" - a player admired for his discipline and patience, but hardly one to inflame the passions.

Neither of the two biggest names in Indian cricket are present for this one-day series. Tendulkar booked into a London hospital on Monday for an operation on his shoulder. Ganguly has dropped out of contention for the team, and now his only appearances are on an administrative committee charged with reforming Indian cricket.

It is not just the absence of Ganguly and Tendulkar that gives it an unfamiliar look - though they do happen to be the two leading century-makers in one-day international history. VVS Laxman has gone too, and neither Zaheer Khan nor Anil Kumble can be found among the bowlers.

In their place there rises a new generation of thrusting young strokemakers.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is already a major star over here, with his shoulder-length locks on every other billboard and a one-day average of almost 54.

Suresh Raina is a ferocious left-hander in the mould of Yuvraj Singh, and left his mark on a few bowling figures during England's warm-up on Saturday. It will be the progress of players like these, as much as Dravid's own form, that makes or breaks his captaincy. Dravid's one-man defiance during the Test series was courageous.

If he is to become a great Indian captain, the Wall must now make himself the foundation of a whole new building.