Rahul Dravid: The Wall prepared for building walls again

At the core of the great athlete often resides a self-centred animal. Lit up by the spotlight, the rest of the world falls into his shadow. Qualityand gentleness is ever hated. Rahul Dravid is a quality cricketer on the field and a great gentleman off  the field - Anonymous

Excerpts from a conversation between Harsha Bhogle and Rahul Dravid

Harsha: You made a very good hundred in Headingley in 2002. Tell us about that.
Dravid: Yeah that was a good innings but Sanjay Bangar played well too. He was asked to open on a tough pitch and fought very well. It's not easy to do that.
Harsha: You were brilliant for India in test cricket from 2002 to 2005
Dravid: Yes, but we won test matches because of our brilliant spinners. Harbhajan and Kumble who used to take heaps of wickets on Day 4/5 of the test match.
Harsha: That is how Rahul Dravid is. You tell him he played well and he will tell you that somebody else played well too! This is who Dravid is!

“Ask him to walk on water for his team and he will ask you how many miles”  -Harsha Bhogle

A fortified wall that stood impregnable while everything collapsed.
Salute to one of the greatest legends of all the time. An indefatigable fighter and a true gentleman !!

Rahul Dravid

*No.1 overseas batsman in Indian cricket (with avg of 65)
*No.1 batsman at no. 3 (with 10524 runs)
*No. 2 Indian batsman after Tendulkar with most runs in tests won by India
*No. 2 batsman with highest balls per dismissal in test (123)
  batsman with most century partnership stands (88)
*No.1 fielder with record 210 catches

"I have failed at times, but I have never stopped trying. It is why I leave with sadness but also with pride." - Rahul Dravid

THANK YOU FOR BEING RAHUL DRAVID

Sportspersons retire every day, but legends retire only to achieve immortality. On Friday, 9th March, 2012, the greatest example of sincerity, dedication and humility decided to call it a day. Sachin Tendulkar aptly described the man-“There was and is only one Rahul Dravid.”
It was in 1996 when this gaunt, lanky gentleman from Karnataka had walked to the crease at Lords. 16 years and more than 24000 international runs later, this unsung hero of Indian cricket is still the same. He doesn’t have a swagger, doesn’t have exaggerated emotions, doesn’t flash the middle finger and still doesn’t cuss. But that doesn’t even remotely imply that he wasn’t aggressive. To quote Matthew Hayden, “All this going around is not aggression; if you want to see aggression on cricket field, look into Rahul Dravid’s eyes”. Enough said.
I feel for the coming generations for they shall never experience the feelings I’ve experienced. The nervousness of seeing India time and again slump to 0/1 and then 3/2. Fretfully chewing away at my nails, cussing the Indian openers, only to see a calm, composed, but an intense Dravid walk out to the crease. Watching him was reassuring. One could relax hearing those four banal words- Dravid abhi baaki hai!!
As I sit today on my chair trying to pen something of a Thank You note to this legend, motley memories of a multitude of cricket grounds flash by. Calcutta. Adelaide. Lords. Georgetown. Headingley.  Many losses, a few draws and a handful of victories. And in most of these joyous moments of victories there was only one constant. Rahul Dravid and his unfaltering defense. Non strikers came, showcased their fluid cover drives, elegant leg glances, languid caresses and got out. But one man slowly chipped away, run by run, ball by ball, session by session, match by match, and year on year. He got his hundreds. People applauded.  All he managed was a restrained fist pump, sometimes not even that. He then cleared his helmet of the sweat and put it back on to face the next ball. There were seldom any pulls that went for sixes, no dance down the tracks that sent the balls sailing out of the parks in his meticulously constructed career. There were only hard earned runs which aided him to yet another milestone, yet another landmark and yet another victory for India.
Where the Tendulkars, Gangulys and the Laxmans overshadowed his watertight defense with their graceful strokes, he always went by unnoticed. But he never complained. He was the Dark Knight since he was there when the team needed him. Always. The shadows would lengthen, the sun would set behind the scoreboard, the bails would be flicked off the stumps when the day was called and more often than not, only one warrior had withstood the onslaught.
The bowlers would frustrate, but the concentration in his eyes did not as much as waver. That’s Rahul Dravid for you.
To sum it up, he was one of the most dignified men the game has ever seen. . At 39, in his penultimate series, the man notched up three centuries in four tests, a testimony to the talent and the amount of cricket still left in him. But isn’t that what champions do? Leave on a high. His last series was a one off aberration in his otherwise sparkling career.
Sir, we will always remember you for the teammate you were, for your fiery eyed concentration, for your picture perfect defense and for your ability of befriend everyone you ever played with. Really, there isn’t a greater man than the one who can garner the respect of his contemporaries.
“If you can’t get along with Dravid, you are struggling in life.” -Brett Lee

Three days before BCCI announced that Rahul dravid is selected as the new A and U19 coach. This is one of the finest decision BCCI has ever taken. This decision is lauded not just in our country but also far away in other countries. Pitersen in an interview described thisdecision of BCCI as an “absolutely brilliant move”. Dravid  himself is very keen to take this job of shaping the new generations. Our Crcket future is surely in good hands or rather i sould say God hands. His deep dedication towards success will definitely make our young cricketers shine.. THE WALL STANDS TALL

Some famous quotes on Dravid :

Glenn McGrath
"Dravid has been a class player for a long time now and we know his ability better than anyone. He's not like the other guys who love scoring off every ball, and there's no real weakness in his game either."

Shoaib Akhtar
"Even though Sachin is great, I have always found Rahul more solid and hard to get out. He has a solid defense and plays less shots than others. When a batsman plays less shots then it is tough to get him as he makes less mistakes."

Javagal Srinath
"I have also not seen him lose his temper. He has that uncanny skill of keeping his frustrations to himself. He hates to get out though and you can see the restlessness in him till he gets his act together in the next outing. He is the most hard-working guy in the side."

Allan Border
"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."



Shane Warne
"Rahul Dravid being known as 'The Wall' is pretty much spot on. 'The fortress' could also describe Rahul. Because once, Dravid was set, you needed the bowling equivalent of a dozen cannon firing all at once to blast him down,""

Chris Gayle:
"Dravid Could play attacking cricket like me but i could never play like him"

Shahid Afridi :
Once Shahid Afridi was asked for his Favourite Player and He says "Rahul Dravid"

Brian Lara :
"If I have to put anyone to bat for my life, it’ll be Kallis or Dravid".

Navjot Singh Sidhu:
"Rahul Dravid is a player who would walk on broken glass if his team asks him to"

Brad Hogg :
"Nothing can beat experience"

Matthew Hayden:
"All this going around is not aggression. If you want to see aggression on cricket field, look into Rahul Dravid’s eyes"

Peter O’ Toole (Legendary Irish Actor):
“Everyone praises Sachin Tendulkar. He may be a genius in his own right but in my book, Rahul Dravid is the artist. Dravid’s defence tactics, his strokes, his cuts, his grace are truly amazing. I’d like to meet the chap sometime and take my hat off to him.”

Mahesh Bhupati:
“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.”

Ian Chappell
“Team in trouble? Whom do you turn to? Rahul Dravid!”

Steve Waugh
"Rahul is the kind of person who young cricketers can look up to; not only because of his success but also because of the way he conducts himself."

Gaurav Kapur
“Ask any bowler and he will tell you that all the greats will give you a half chance early in their innings, except Dravid.”


“The people back home deserve a fighting team” – By The Man Himself