ICC Cricket World Cup Winners

 

Rahul Dravid

A Tribute To The Great Wall Of Indian Cricket

Full name : Rahul Sharad Dravid

Technically perfect. Yes, you will accept for sure that cricket is a gentleman’s game when you see this confident, cool and committed player. As a top-order batsman, captain, all rounder he has proved that one needs good temperament to succeed in a particular field.

Tests

He made his test debut in the year 1996 (June 20-24) England vs. India played at Lord's London.

He played his last test in the year 2012 (January 24-28) Australia vs. India played at Adelaide Oval.

One Day Internationals (ODIs)

He made his ODI debut in the year 1996, April 3, India vs. Sri Lanka, played at The Padang, Singapore.

He played his last ODI match in the year 2011, September 16, England v India, played at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff.

First-class Cricket

He made his First-class cricket debut in the year 1990-91.

He played his last First-class match in the year 2012 (January 24-28) Australia v India played at Adelaide Oval

One of the best performances came during Dravid's peak, between July 2002 and June 2006 – the month in which his overall Test average peaked at 58.75. In that period, he scored 4316 runs at 69.61; even many of Tendulkar's disciples could not deny that Dravid was India's best batsman.

He lies second behind Tendulkar on the Test run-scorers list, with 13288, and fourth with 36 Test centuries. He does have a couple of records of his own. Dravid is the only man to score 10,000 runs at No. 3 position, and the only man to face 30,000 deliveries in Test cricket.

He is among three Indian cricketers to score 10,000 runs both in Tests and in ODIs. Wisden ranked him the third greatest Test batsman of all time, after Don Bradman and Tendulkar. In April 2009, he became the only player to score a century in all the ten Test-playing countries. As of October 2012, he holds the record for the most number of catches taken by a player (non-wicket-keeper) in Test cricket, with 210.

Rahul Dravid and Glenn McGrath were honoured during the seventh annual Bradman Awards function in Sydney in November 2012. Dravid has also been honoured with the Padma Bhushan award, India's third highest civilian award.

It's no surprise that Steve Waugh respected Rahul Dravid. He respected him so much that he asked him to write the foreword to his autobiography. Dravid averaged a staggering 102.84 in victories under Ganguly. In 2006, as captain, he made 81 and 68 in a low-scoring tough-fight in Jamaica to give India their first series win in the Caribbean for 35 years. Dravid batted 597 minutes in the match; nobody else on either side lasted 205 minutes.

Dravid was never too proud to seek advice. "Greatness was not handed to him; he pursued it diligently, single-mindedly," Dravid wrote of Waugh in that foreword. It's a compliment that works both ways. Waugh recognised Dravid as a rare species, and so should we: as somebody who achieved greatness as both a cricketer and as a human being.

He exhibited greatness at its most humble, and is one of the most impressive men to play the game: dignified, fair-minded, eloquent, gentle, yet tougher than we will ever realise. Dravid was also a strikingly selfless team man, and could pop up in the most unlikely places: he batted everywhere from No. 1 to 7 in the Test team and played 73 one-day internationals as wicketkeeper to aid the balance of the side.

He was the captain of the Rajasthan Royals team - Indian Premier League (IPL). Rahul Dravid, who provided inspirational leadership to the beleaguered Rajasthan Royals during IPL 2013, has decided to retire with the Champions League Twenty20 being his last assignment for the franchise.

Playing for one last time together in a cricket match, albeit for different teams in the Champions League Twenty20 summit clash, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid heaped encomiums on each other with the latter saying that his long time former India team-mate had inspired him to strive for excellence in the game.

In August 2011, after receiving a surprise call in the ODI series against England, Dravid declared his retirement from ODIs as well as Twenty20 International. In March 2012, he announced his retirement from international and first-class cricket. 

In fact it was a respectful exit indeed.

Sachin Tendulkar has paid rich tributes to Rahul Dravid, who announced his retirement to all forms of international cricket, saying there can be "no other" cricketer like him.

"There was and is only one Rahul Dravid. There can be no other. I will miss Rahul in the dressing room and out in the middle," - Tendulkar.

For someone who has played 164 matches and over 13000 runs, no tribute can be enough.

I somehow feel that Dravid is more like an actor than a star who did not get the required attention. I would compare him with finest actors like Sanjeev Kumar and Aamir Khan who are great actors but not stars. I dedicate this blog to Sir Rahul Dravid, the great wall of Indian cricket for his everlasting performance.

Various people on Rahul Dravid

"He (Dravid) is a perfect role model for youngsters. He has set a great example for all of us to follow. We are all trying to follow that path,"

- Sachin Tendulkar

Dravid has been a class player for a long time now and we know his ability better than anyone. Averaging 21/2 hours at the crease against us is a fair stat. He's not like the other guys who love scoring off every ball, and there's no real weakness in his game either. He's mentally strong. You've just got to bowl well to him early on because he gets himself really set for a big innings once he is in.

- Glenn McGrath

'The Wall' (Dravid) is a solid player with very good technique…

- Matthew Hayden

He brings serenity to the crease that is so good for the nerves in the dressing-room. He also helps ease the tension away by the way he plays. He then proceeds to make the fastest of bowlers look easy to bat against. His economy of movement and the preciseness of his footwork gets him into position quickly, and so, the bowlers look quite clueless. The fastest of deliveries is played as if it's done every day and with minimum fuss.

- Sunil Gavaskar

Rahul is of the thinking sort. His strengths are his resilience and tremendous ability to grasp things.

- Father, Sharad Dravid

It does not get better than what Rahul Dravid did in this Test (Adelaide Test). His batting was outstanding. Everyone has already exhausted superlatives so I would not bother myself with any additional praise but you could be sure my admiration for him has grown tremendously.

- Allan Border

“He deserves his success as he has worked hard for it. He is one of the most down to earth and disciplined professionals I’ve met.”

- Tennis ace and friend, Mahesh Bhupathi

“Rahul is a person who will walk on the broken glasses if his team asks him to’’.

- Navjot Singh Sidhu

''Rahul Dravid is my idol. I have been following him for the past 10 years''. "Got my ODI and Test cap from Rahul Dravid, a true honour to finally make my test debut. It’s a dream come true ''.

- Suresh Raina

I always look up to him as a cricketer. Rahul Dravid Sir is a legend and he really motivated me on and off the field… I'm really indebted to him.

- Manish Pandey (IPL)

Some Useful Links :

A lotus in cricket’s contaminated pond - Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid inducted into ICC Hall of Fame

Keywords: Indian Cricket Team, Wicketkeeper, Captain, Coach, BCCI, Cricket World Cup