Born on January 11, 1973, Rahul Dravid is a seamless definition of resilience, class and calmness and cricket can never have a better-suited example than Rahul Sharad Dravid. As per my thinking, a player who has zero haters and loved because of his simplicity and humbleness. Therefore, many of the youth generation followed him as a youth icon.
He was the backbone of the Indian Test team, a player who could defend ball of anyone with the serenity and craftiness. You may know him as The wall, Mr. Dependable, Jammy which he earned from his father’s profession.
In August 2011, he said goodbye to the ODI and T-20 after receiving a surprise recall in the ODI series against England. On 9 March 2012, he walks off from the cricket ground by declaring his retirement in Test and first-class cricket.
Rahul Dravid
Some Unbreakable Records of Rahul Dravid:
- Most number of catches by a fielder, 210: Being a magnificent slip catcher throughout his career, Dravid has been involved in numerous slip catches. He has the highest number catches in the test cricket with the number 210. England’s ace cricketer Alastair Cook at 153 but it seems impossible to reach this number as his career comes to end.
- Most numbers of deliveries faced 31,258: In the modern era of T20, the clan of batsman that Dravid represented is rare to find. So no one should even think of getting close to that number.
- Most number of minutes spent at the crease: 44,152: We call him the wall for a reason!
- The only batsman to have scored 10,000 runs at No 3 in tests: Not even the great Rickey Ponting could achieve this feat. Among the current players who can get close to or surpass, that number is Steve Smith and Joe Root. Tough ask though! We will wait and watch.
- Rahul Dravid has the record streak to have played 94 test matches without missing one since his debut in 1996.
- Dravid is the first international cricketer to have registered a hundred in all ten Test playing nations
Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman
Some Unknown things about him:
- On 26th December 2007, he played 40 dot balls and the 41th faced and took a single. So when he scored a single run after playing 40 dot balls, the whole AUSTRALIAN CROWD in the stadium gave him a standing ovation and a loud cheer.
- 318 runs partnership between Ganguly & Dravid (in a do-die game against Lankans in the 1999 world cup).
- In 2002, he scored centuries in four consecutive Test innings – three against England and one against the West Indies. Only Everton Weekes has done better, with five in a row.
- In 2004, Dravid was the first winner of the Sir Garfield Sobers trophy awarded annually by the International Cricket Council to the World Player of the Year.
- He became the only non-Australian cricketer to give the Bradman Oration in 2012.
- In November 2003, Dravid added another feather to his cap. The batsman scored 50 runs off just 22 balls against New Zealand. This is the second fastest ODI fifty score by an Indian, after Ajit Agarkar.
Some Crucial Test Innings of Rahul Dravid:
- 146 Not Out vs England, The Oval, 2011
- 270 vs Pakistan, Rawalpindi
- 148 vs England, Leeds, 2002
- 233 vs Australia, Adelaide, 2003
- 180 vs Australia, Kolkata, 2001
