Rahul Dravid, also known as the great “Wall” of the Indian team is not an ordinary cricketer! He has been extraordinary in his entire career of cricket that can be seen from his records. Let’s take a look at the details of this great man’s career!
Rahul Sharad Dravid was born on 11th January 1973 in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. However, he grew up in Bangalore, Karnataka and in 1984 he attended a summer coaching camp at KSCA's Chinnaswamy Stadium where a former cricketer turned coach Keki Tarapore spotted his talents.
He has a brother, Vijay. His father worked for the “Kissan Jam” company and that’s where he earned the nickname “Jammy” from his teammates in St.Josephs, Bangalore.
He started playing cricket at the very young age of 12 and represented the state level at under-15, under-17 and under-19. He scored his first century when he made the debut for his school team! He was not only batting but also keeping wickets. However, senior players like Gundappa Vishwanath, Roger Binny, Brijesh patel and Tarapore, advised him against this.
He was selected for Ranji Trophy in February 1991 where he played against Maharashtra alongside future Indian teammates Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath and went on to score a remarkable 82 runs to draw the match after batting at no.7. His first full season was in the year 1991-92, where he scored two centuries to finish with 380 runs at an average of 63.3. Since then he has been selected to play for the South zone in the Duleep Trophy for whom he has been subsequently chosen annually.
Rahul Dravid started his international cricket career in 1996, and is ranked among the 10 best current test batsmen by the ICC in world cricket. He has the highest test batting average of any Indian batsmen in history. He is also one of the only three batsmen to have scored more than 9000 runs in test cricket, the other two being Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar. As of now, he is the highest ranked Indian batsman in the ICC Test rankings and the 2nd highest rated Indian batsman in the ICC ODI rankings.
Rahul has always been one of the main pillars of the Indian batting with his blend of technical proficiency & stylish strokes. His strokes are so perfect technically that he is considered as the "wall" of the Indian Team. Initially, his batting style was regarded as “slow” for the ODI’s but with his imaginative placing of the ball & innovative strokes he made himself as an integral part of the Indian team for both Tests as well as ODI’s. His temperament for both the versions of the game is exemplary and has earned him respect from all the other players. The Indian Vice Captain has frequently played the sheet anchor role to perfection. . He was verily the batsman of the 1999 World Cup with two hundreds and the highest aggregate. For this, he was named as Wisden cricketer of the year, one of the few Indians to receive this special accolade. His good and innocent looks make him very popular among the girls.
Throughout his illustrious career, Rahul "the Wall" Dravid has lived up to his moniker on umpteen occasions, stonewalling against the best of attacks to serve the Indian cause. Dravid, who averages around 60 in both forms of the game, can undoubtedly be called the most valuable player for India.
In the Year 2005, he took over the mantle of the [b]Captain of Team India,[/b] amidst a lot of debates and hum and haw over the matter, as Sachin Tendulkar, who was the chosen one could not seem to perform the role well as his batting seemed to be affected! Sourav Ganguly was removed from the position also amidst lot of controversy and politics.
But, Dravid proved his mettle even then, with his consistency and iron wall approach to his game and his cool exterior not giving away anything to his rivals in the field! For this sheer consistency, time and again, there are few equals and he has also managed to maintain a test average of over 50. His temperament and his concentration in the game are exemplary and legendary. Rahul Dravid will always be known for his “modest, unassuming and well behaved” manner.
Some special Awards: -
·Dravid was named World Player of Year at the inaugural International Cricket Council (ICC) awards. A 50-strong panel of former cricketing greats, national captains, umpires and referees chose him. "It is quite unbelievable, I am really proud," said Dravid, who was also named Test Player of the Year. "I am so happy to be recognized by some really great people."
·Dravid, who had also turned his hand to wicket keeping in the one-day game, received the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for being the best player in both forms of the game in the year to July 31, 2004.
The “wall’ did not crumble by itself, it seems to have been pulled down and the Indian team suddenly looks very susceptible in the longer versions of the game. Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly the so-called “stalwarts” don’t seem to be performing either! At least not when it matters the most! So the question we need to ask here is why was Rahul Dravid taken out of the team? Any answers…………..?!!!
