The former Indian cricketer and captain of the Indian national team, Rahul Dravid, has been in the spotlight lately. Dravid has left a significant mark on the lives of his fellow teammates and opponents.
Dravid has not played in any cricket matches recently, but he is still a familiar name to hear when talking about Indian cricket. Cricket fans know him as Mr. Dependable, and he has proven to be such a player and person with his actions on and off the field.
Dravid’s Career
Dravid has been a part of the Indian national team as a batsman for 16 years, and two of them as a captain. Many fans and critics say that his career as captain is underrated. Dravid has led India in 25 Tests and 79 ODIs, with 8 and 42 wins, respectively.
Rahul has received many awards and national honors, such as the Player of the Year and the Test Player of the Year in 2000, awarded by the ICC. In 2018, he was introduced to the ICC Hall of Fame, making him the fifth Indian player to receive that honor.
He retired in 2012 and finished his career with 344 matches played in ODI and 164 Test matches. Dravid played best in Test matches where he holds a record of 210 catches as a non-wicketkeeper fielder. As a batsman, Dravid scored 13,265 runs at an average of 52.62 while playing for India.
Graeme Swann About Dravid
Graeme Swann, a retired English cricketer, recently reminisced about his country’s match against India. Swann mentioned that Sachin Tendulkar, another former Indian cricketer, has caused a lot of headaches for him. However, Swann’s biggest threat on the field was Dravid.
During his rookie years and a match between England and India at Kent in 2000, Swann felt terrified with Dravid across him on the field. Swann managed to get him out but admitted that he would not be able to do it generally. Consequently, it was the only time he got Dravid out and still made him feel like an “11-year-old spinner.”
Dravid as Karun Nair’s Rolemodel
Karun Nair, a promising Indian cricketer, has had the opportunity to play with Rahul Dravid a few times. Nair spent time with Rahul during the Indian Premier League before Dravid’s retirement. Karun remembers Dravid as a mentor that helped him, a domestic cricketer, pave a way to a national career.
Nair was a young and up-and-coming cricketer when Dravid decided to take a chance on him by giving him an opportunity to play for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL. After that chance, he got another one to play with Dravid in the Delhi Daredevils.
MS Dhoni Learned from Dravid
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, a former Indian cricketer, admitted that he has learned a few moves from Dravid. Dhoni is known as one of the best wicketkeepers in the history of Indian cricket. However, Dhoni acknowledged that he learned a lot about wicketkeeping skills from Rahul Dravid.
As we mentioned, Dravid was not a full-time wicketkeeper, but he perfected his skills on the field and passed them onto Dhoni whose wicketkeeping skills were not perfect at the start. Dhoni earned his spot in the national team thanks to his explosive batting skills.