Rahul Dravid

"He would start at nine in the morning and bat for the entire day"

2012-05-25T19:42:00.002-07:00

Source : Indian Express (article titled "Mr. Perfectionist, from start to finish")

A day after announcing his Test retirement, Rahul Dravid joined his Rajasthan Royals team mates at a six-day pre-season camp at the World Cricket Academy’s Institute of Sports, in the outskirts of Nagpur. By now, it had become one of Dravid’s regular haunts. From the time he had returned from the Test tour of Australia two months ago, Dravid had been visiting on and off to train for the IPL.

“One day he would ask only for left-arm spinners and get them to bowl over the wicket. The next day they would bowl around the wicket to him, and he would do the same,” says Zubin Bharucha, technical director, Rajasthan Royals. “Rahul, being Rahul, wanted to experiment with everything. He would ask for outswing bowlers one day, then bowlers who would bowl slower ones from the back of their hand, and so on.”

Siddharth Trivedi must have bowled his fair share of deliveries to Dravid during those pre-season camps. “He would start at nine in the morning and bat for the entire day,” says the Royals seamer. “He would keep talking to us, asking us if there was any mistake we could spot in his batting.”

Beginning of the end

Dravid, 39, wasn’t even in the final chapter of his career. This was the start of the epilogue. And yet, one of the foremost Test batsmen of his era was looking to prove to himself that he could thrive as a batsman in the IPL, and fill the voluminous captaincy boots of Shane Warne.

Former India mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton, who is now employed with the Pune Warriors, isn’t surprised that Dravid was preparing as meticulously as ever even after his international retirement. “Having worked very closely with Rahul and having seen him from close quarters, I can tell you that he is a consummate professional. There are no short-cuts involved with his cricket,” says Upton.

“This fierce will to compete is in their DNA. You put them on a table-tennis table, and they will be as competitive as anywhere else. You won’t see them fooling around.”

It’s clear that Dravid’s preparation paid off. With 462 runs, Dravid was the seventh-highest run scorer in the league phase. As a captain, however, he began the season under a certain amount of pressure, knowing that he would be compared, at every stage, to Warne.

“It’s difficult to compare them. Both are legends of the game,” says Trivedi, who has played for Rajasthan in all five seasons. “Warne would instill confidence in us during team talks. After that, it never felt as if we were bowling to Chris Gayle or any other big name player. Dravid motivates us just as much, but in his own way. He is very calm, and knows how to get the best out of his players.”

Deceptive demeanour

Dravid’s relaxed demeanour on the field, moreover, would suggest that he has more in common with his predecessor than most would have imagined. Off the field, there has been further evidence contradicting Dravid’s taciturn reputation, such as a ‘leaked’ video of a Royals bonding session, in which all the players are caught shaking a leg, their skipper as enthusiastically as anyone.

“Having retired from international cricket, there is less pressure on him,” says Bharucha. “But he’s always had a lighter side to his personality. It’s just that it seems to be on display more now than it used to be earlier.” Apart from this, Bharucha zeroes in on another key quality, his sense of balance.

“He’s the same regardless of whether we are winning or losing. And that kind of balance is infectious,” he says. “Some legends have this air about them, which at times puts a lot of pressure on the younger players to perform. Rahul is different. He speaks with everyone, and even the juniors enjoy a great level of comfort with him.”

One of the younger lot to have benefited from this is Rahane, who has basked in the company of his childhood idol at the crease and in the dressing room. “Rahul bhai is not like Shane Warne, who will always come up with surprises. Instead, he keeps things as simple as possible, whether it’s his batting or when he’s trying to give you instructions,” says Rahane.

It’s unclear whether Dravid will continue to play on next season — his latest statements indicate that Rajasthan are on the lookout for a younger opener to partner Rahane. But even if his playing days are over, the Royals would surely want to retain Dravid’s presence in their dugout.

What has the GenNext learnt from Rahul Dravid?

2012-03-10T22:11:00.000-08:00

Cheteshwar Pujara

I was 20 or 21. He was playing for Karnataka against Saurashtra in Rajkot. He is one of my idols. I just wanted to ask him that if I wanted to play at the international level, what should I do and how can I improve myself.

He was very happy to talk to me. He was very friendly. He told me he had heard a lot about me scoring in domestic cricket and he was really impressed with that. When you hear from a big player, that he has heard a bit about you, it is very nice. After that, he gave me a few tips about succeeding at the top level.

If it is similar to your game, it is easier to communicate and even he can understand my mentality, what I am thinking and how I can improve. Because he has gone through this stage many years back, he can understand a youngster's psychology.

(One thing you would take from Dravid's game) I would say his positive attitude towards the game. A bowler has to work really hard to get his wicket. That quality I admire a lot because even I don't like to get out.

In the Durban Test, I played a pull shot and got out. He saw that and when I asked him what went wrong, he told me to play my normal game. He had seen me play in the Ranji Trophy and said that normally you don't play those kinds of shots. "It is not your strength. You should play to your strength. The ball was skidding off the wicket and the bounce was so high you can't control the shot."

Ajinkya Rahane

He showed us how important your wicket is and to value it always. Another thing about him is how humble he always is on and off the field. That quality really stands out. I had made 165 and 98 in the 2008-09 Duleep Trophy final in Chennai against South Zone. He [Dravid] was part of that side. I wanted to go and ask him about my batting but was feeling hesitant about approaching such a big player. Instead, he himself came up to me and told me that I was doing well and needed to continue playing the way I had been playing.

He also told me that I belonged to the international level and would play for India soon. He asked me to develop more confidence in my batting which is so important at the highest level. To have my idol, who I had grown up watching, reposing so much faith in me was a huge thing. I have had the privilege of sharing two dressing rooms with him - India and Rajasthan Royals.

Abhinav Mukund

He is a very, very meticulous man. He is very careful about all the cricketing gear in his kit bag. It is all in order. It is never out of place. I saw it when I started playing alongside Dravid. He was just next to me and you could see all the pairs of gloves arranged neatly in one row. You could see the bats in one corner. You would never see things out of place. He is a man of order, I think. He is known for his professionalism and his ethics so it comes alongside his character.

There was one game where the ball flicked his shoelaces and he got out in England. You could notice the next day that he had changed his shoelaces and tucked them in deep. When you say that the man leaves nothing to chance, that is the biggest example of that.

He has definitely been very approachable. He is known to be a very quiet man but once you approach him, once you start talking to him, he keeps talking to you.

[One thing you would take from Dravid's game] Temperament. Ability to fight it out in the middle. Ability to prove to himself and to others that he can do it and he can do it outside the country. I think the biggest example would have been the tours of West Indies and England where he got four hundreds in seven Tests. The ability to prove people wrong again and again.

Rohit Sharma

I've learnt quite a lot from him. The first thing is putting a price on your wicket. Secondly, no matter what condition and situation you are batting in, never give up. Just be there, feel the heat, feel the pressure. That is when your true character shows. He showed us that. That is the biggest thing I learnt from him.

Tributes pour in

2012-03-09T23:27:00.000-08:00

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.
- Sachin Tendulkar

Dravid is obviously one of India's greatest batsmen - great in all conditions - and one who scored runs runs everywhere. From a personal perspective, Rahul is one of the best men I've ever worked with... he's not only a great cricketer, but a great man.
- John Wright

He's probably the nicest guy - no, he is the nicest guy - that I've met in cricket. He's a phenomenal man. He loves the game with so much passion, it's in his blood and in his heart.
- Shane Watson

He was the guy youngsters in the dressing room looked up to. Sachin would always be the guy who inspired awe. But a lot of players knew Sachin was something special, while they could all be Rahul Dravid. Rahul was one of them, working hard - there really is going to be a big void in Indian cricket now.
- Sunil Gavaskar

He was a totally selfless cricketer. He has been very helpful and never said no to anyone and always gave his best.
- Bapu Nadkarni

It's a bold decision. He probably doesn't feel he has no cricket left. He is making way for the youngsters, which is amazing. It's sort of an example for many others.
- Anshuman Gaekwad

There cannot be another Rahul Dravid. He is a legend. As a youngster, I learnt a lot from him. Bowling to him, talking to him, sharing the dressing room...anything cannot be better than that. I personally feel there cannot be another Rahul Dravid.
- Pragyan Ojha

Jam, it was a pleasure & privilege to have played with u and ur presence in the dressing room always added to our confidence. Will miss u lots.
- Virender Sehwag

Congrats to Rahul Dravid on an amazing career! You will be missed. Fantastic person and Cricketer! India's #wall
- Yuvraj Singh

Rahul Dravid retires... cricket loses one of its finest batsmen; sport, one of its finest gentlemen.
- Jeffrey Archer

"Rahul Dravid retires.. the world's most respected cricketer over the last 20 (years).
- Michael Vaughan

"Rahul Dravid-LEGEND!! Plain & simple.. congrats on an incredible career!! India will miss The Wall."
- Kevin Pietersen

Champion on and off the field, showed us all that sky is the limit with hard work, patience and discipline.
- Mahesh Bhupathi

Rahul Dravid is one of the all-time greats of the game. One of the top 5 batters I played against. Lara, Sachin, Ponting Kallis are the other 4.
- Alec Stewart

They say sport serves society by providing vivid examples of excellence. To me the most vivid & dependable has to be Rahul Dravid.
- Shah Rukh Khan

Knew the man behind the bat. Not often do you find a person as exceptional as his achievements.
- Sanjay Manjrekar

Some succeed because they are destined to, but Rahul Dravid succeeded because he was DETERMINED to.
- Navjot Singh Sidhu

Farewell Rahul Dravid - greatest No3 since Bradman. #TheWall
- Piers Morgan

Cricket once was a Gentlemen's game & Rahul Dravid Personified tat. Thanks Rahul for enriching our lives. You'll Never retire in our hearts.:)
- Anupam Kher

Congrats to Rahul Dravid on an amazing career! You will be missed. Fantastic person and Cricketer! India's #wall
- AB de Villiers

Congrats on a Fantastic, Superb International Career! The Great Legend Rahul Dravid !!The wall will be miss!!
- Chris Gayle

Rahul Dravid retires, proof that decent and well-rounded men can excel at the highest levels of sport
- Derek Pringle

Thank you Rahul Dravid, the talent of ur's will be missed which produced outstanding results, and to keep repeating it took character.
- Rohan Bopanna

Congrats to Rahul Dravid on a fantastic career. He can be very proud about what he achieved and the way he went about his business.
- Shaun Pollock

Extremely emotional to see my hero bid goodbye to cricket. Thank You for the memories. Words fail me. You're a legend. #respect.
- Aakash Chopra

Rahul Dravid retires from international cricket

2012-03-09T09:23:00.000-08:00

As I am trying to type this, my mind is completely lost in all the memories of this great man. Not in a mood to write anything, but there is something which I thought is worth sharing with all of you - a perfect tribute to The Wall from Harsha Bhogle.

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Rahul Dravid batted exactly like the person he is: stately and upright, dignity and poise his two shoulders, standing up to everything coming at him with minimum fuss. He picked his shots carefully, almost like he was weighing the risk for fear of letting himself and his side down. There was little about him that was flamboyant - there isn't with an oak - and patiently, brick by brick, he built giant edifices. He is a good man and he batted like a good man.

And like with most of his choices in life, he has chosen well again. He has not craved a full house on its feet, there has been no grandstanding. The retirement is a sports-page event not a gossip item. He knew it was time. "I'm sure you have thought it through," I said when he called. "I know this is the time," he said. "Any longer and it will be for the wrong reason." I expected nothing less from a man it has been my privilege to watch and to know for 16 years.

It was but a feather that prevented him from getting a century on debut at Lord's. He would have liked it, for he has this sense of history about him. He would have wanted to be on that honours board, and 15 years later he inscribed his name there with a Dravid special. They love him there like he is one of their own, and indeed England has been a recurring motif in his life. The 1999 World Cup; the majesty of 2002, when he outbatted the world and produced one of his finest innings in Leeds; winning a series as captain in 2007; and then those three centuries last year that reminded us once again what Test cricket was all about.

At Lord's he remained not out from No. 3; at Trent Bridge he opened the batting and was ninth out; and at The Oval, at the age of 38, he had but ten minutes between deliveries as he batted through the innings for six and a half hours, before returning to open the batting. A standing ovation had just died down before another took its place. I stood too, not for the first time.

And he loved to explore England, on foot, in buses and in trains; always asking about the latest musical and offering extended reviews of those he had seen. One such exploration took him to Scotland, from where he returned humbler, if that was indeed possible. He was getting paid to play, he said, but everyone else was paying to play - taking unpaid leave, shutting down shops, all for the sheer joy of playing. He learnt, he said, how much you can take for granted as an international star. I can see why he will continue to be a giver, why his doors will be open for other cricketers. And I hope they learn from him never to say no.

There were two things Dravid didn't really love in cricket: opening the batting and keeping wicket. He was asked to do both at various times, and I asked him if he ever contemplated saying no. He didn't enjoy it, he said, but took it as a challenge, to see how good he could be. This acceptance of challenges is what has defined his cricket and made him one of the finest team players there has been. A challenge, he said, allowed him to understand himself better, it gave him a reason to play sport. If he shied away, he would never know how good he could be. He kept wicket in about 70 one-day internationals, never most convincingly, but he allowed himself to look bad for the team to look good. It was always the team for him and in the little piece he wrote for the book that my wife Anita and I did, he quoted Kipling: for the strength of the wolf is the pack and the strength of the pack is the wolf. It was nice to see a cricketer quoting from literature.

The team is like a pot, Dravid often says. Some put in and some take out. The more who put in, the fuller it gets, and those were the players he enjoyed playing with the most: those who put into the pot. He was one of the leading contributors and there was never an effort at gaining sympathy or media attention for it. He gave quietly. He was one of the reasons why India recovered so quickly from the match-fixing issue around the turn of the century. India had some outstanding men of integrity at the time. Tendulkar, Dravid, Kumble, Ganguly, Laxman and Srinath. It was a good group to belong to.

The turn of the century was also the coming of age of Dravid as an international cricketer. He had proved people wrong about his ability to play one-day cricket at the World Cup but then went to Australia convinced he needed to do well there to gain respect. It is a word he will often use in conversation ("the respect in your dressing room and that of your opponents is what matters") but in quest of it that time, he tried too hard, cocooning himself into a mass of nervous energy. He struggled but returned in 2003, at the height of his powers as a batsman, to peel off a double-century in Adelaide that won India a famous Test.

He scored many in that phase, most of them away and throughout his career, his home and away averages have sat close together. It is the mark of a genuinely great player. And it is away that the most memorable innings were played: in New Zealand in 1999, England in 2002, Australia and Pakistan in 2003-04, and in the West Indies in 2006. To that extent he was the true successor to Sunil Gavaskar.

And his father will be proud of that. Oh, we family folk are suckers for that kind of sentiment. In 1994, when I used to do the highlights of domestic cricket for ESPN, Dravid's father would often call to ask if he could get highlights of his son's batting. The request was always very politely made and a thank you was always offered when I met him. You can see the shyness in the genes, the correctness. I don't mention it lightly. In our obsession with saluting the here and now we sometimes ignore what produced success. If Dravid senior was proud of his young man, Rahul was proud enough of his mother to be the photographer when she received her PhD. It might seem a small thing to do but it tells you a lot about the person. Giant edifices are built on solid foundations.

And so it is with a touch of emotion that I will say goodbye to India's finest No. 3. He wasn't the Wall, not for me. Yes, his defence was as perfect as it could get, his steeliness so admirable, but he played shots that warmed the heart. The cover drive, with the big stride forward, and the prettiest of them all - the whip through midwicket played so late and while so nimble on his toes.

He will be missed, as the great always are. He will see his children grow, take them to school, imbibe in them the reading habit (for he read more than most people I know and couldn't understand why others didn't), but from time to time he must tell the new flowers that will inevitably bloom in our cricket of the need to put grit over beauty, team over self, challenge before rejection, humility before arrogance, for that is what he stood for.

Well played, my friend. You have the honour of leaving the game richer with your legacy and none of us can ask for anything more than that.

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Rahul Dravid turns 39

2012-01-11T06:38:00.000-08:00

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Dravid was asked if he had any plans to celebrate his 39th birthday. Nothing, he said. Just practise and sleep. Did the number 39 scare him? "Any number scares you after 30," he said and laughed. "Actually, 40. I'll be scared of that number." And then he went back to practising.
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Happy Birthday Rahul!

One of the finest speeches : Just another reason to respect Rahul Dravid!

2011-12-15T18:19:00.000-08:00

You can watch the full speech here:
youtube.com/watch?v=qr4bK63WxXY

Let me tell you - It's worth watching! It will tell you what Rahul Dravid is as an Indian, as a person and as a cricketer.

"It’s a great feeling when you know you have shared in the success of somebody else" - Rahul Dravid

2011-12-10T00:08:00.001-08:00

Source: firstpost dot com
In an exclusive interview to CNN-IBN‘s sports editor Gaurav Kalra, Rahul Dravid talks about what keeps him ticking in test cricket after 15 years of playing the game, his records and India’s upcoming four-match test series against Australia.

On his goals for the Australia test
“Nothing in terms of my own statistics there. I want to win a test series in Australia…try and help win a test series in Australia — something we have never done,” says Dravid. “Everytime we go and travel there that’s going to be our goal and its not easy but the goal is to try and win a series.”
Dravid says that Australia has long been the benchmark for the game and are still a good side, “So it would be special to go and do well there.”

Comparing his present form to his form in 2003 at Aldelaide
Dravid had scored 233 against Australia in 2003 and finds himself confident going into this series. “I’ve go some runs behind me and even though runs behind me doesn’t translate into runs in the future, it definitely means you go there in a good space. I’m pretty confident. Hitting the ball well. And, I feel relaxed.”
The first test will be held in Melbourne on 26 December.

On the numbers that follow him
The perpetually modest Dravid who has in his 15 years of test cricket notched up 37 test hundreds and 13,000 test runs doesn’t make a big deal about his records. Instead he jokes about it saying, ”What they tell you, is that I have been around a long time,”
He says that if one is consistent over a period of time, plays as long as he has and manages to stay fit, one can get the numbers.
Dravid says that growing up as a kid playing cricket and having watched Sunil Gavaskar get his 10,000th run has been fodder for his career. “It is those moments and memories that your careers are built,” he says. “It’s those memories that stay with you, that give you ambitions for the future”.
He says he don’t look at the numbers anymore, instead, his memories and ambitions are more the team’s numbers. “There’s a point of time in your career when you stop looking at the numbers…You wouldn’t mind scoring 500 or a 1,000 runs less, if you could win a series in Australia,” he says. ”The greatest memories for me now are not necessarily the statistics or the no of runs, its moments — those magic moments. …the series wins, the test wins,” he says.

On being the oldest active test cricketer in the world
Just like his many stints on the wicket where he has stuck along stubbornly, Rahul Dravid has stuck to playing test cricket as resolutely. Dravid is the oldest active test cricketer in the world and while it does speak volumes about his work ethic, discipline and desire to be successful in tests for such a long time, he is modest as usual about his achievement.
Without an iota of credit for himself, Dravid says that his longevity indicates “that fitness levels, the access that we have these days to fitness trainers and sports science has improved tremendously since I started.”

On catches and what makes them special
Dravid acknowledges that he is really proud of his 200 catches in the slips because of all the hardwork he has put into it since taking up cricket and playing for home state Karnataka. But it’s not just about the number of catches for him. He loves the camaraderie and team spirit feeling that catches evoke.
“I know the number of hours I have put in and number of catches I have taken till my hands were literally sore,” he says. But, he loves taking catches because it gives one a feeling of sharing in the success of the team.
He says it even betters the feeling of having scored a ton. “You know when you get a 100 you share it with your partner…But you know when you take a catch, you get to share that with your team mates instantly. And that’s a lovely feeling,” Dravid says, adding, “It’s a great feeling when you know you have shared in the success of somebody else.”

36th century, 13000 runs.......form continues

2011-11-26T20:43:00.001-08:00

What a series Team India had - bounced back hard in 1st test to turn the tables on West Indians, won 2nd test by an innings margin and ended the series with an epic 3rd test match. Who would have thought that WI will be in a position trying to save the match after scoring 550+ in 1st innings? And that too when they were leading by 180+ runs with 8 wickets in hand at the end of 4th day. In just another (!) dramatic collapse, WI were bundled out for 134, thanks to Ojha and Ashwin. Team India needed 243 to win from 70 overs and they were in hunt straightaway when Sehwag scored quick 60. The match boiled down to the last over, with India requiring 4 runs with 2 wickets in hand. In the end, it were the visitors who had the last laugh, managing to savage a draw out of the day they otherwise would have loved to forget.

In all this, Rahul Dravid kept scoring. 54 & 31 in 1st test, 119 in 2nd and 82 & 33 in 3rd. He looks in good touch and his team would want him to continue this run in Australia.
The 4 match test series against Australia starts on Boxing-Day (26th December). It will be a challenge for Team India to beat Aussies on their soil.

"I go out and do other things to take my mind off the sport"

2011-11-04T09:40:00.000-07:00

Source: Times of India

Rahul Dravid believes in pursuing excellence without the stress of competition. He spends hours practising and finds the experience meditative. "My wife feels it's my escape from reality," he smiles and adds, "When you are practising, you don't have to worry about what's happening at home and when you are depressed or down, it has the same effect as meditation."
Rahul recently shared the stage with Abhinav Bindra to discuss the ace shooter's new book. "The struggle of a sportsman on the road to success has been brought out well in Abhinav's book. I find resonance with that. This book is a great achievement for someone so young," points out Rahul.

And The Wall confirmed that it's a challenge to stay rooted in the present. "There have been times when I have clinched the game in a moment," says Rahul, adding, "It happens at those times when I have the ability to perform, irrespective of my state of mind."
But it's important to stay in form. "Form too, is a mental state. When you reach the right space, magic happens. When magic happens, there's joy in the journey towards excellence," points out Rahul.

And he doesn't go around trying to be a role model. "Cricket is just something that I am good at, just like various people are good at various things. What's lucky is that cricket gets enormous publicity," says the cricketer.

So with its coffers brimming, should the BCCI support other sports? "To be honest, what Abhinav and others like him have achieved has generated a lot more interest in people about other sports. There's no point in comparing cricket to other sports. It's just that cricket has been lucky," says the ace cricketer, who has three consecutive centuries to his credit.

But Rahul points out that he's not really after numbers where making centuries are concerned. "I also try to be who I am. So I go out and do other things to take my mind off the sport," he says. Rahul also feels lucky to have found books. "Reading allows me to recharge my batteries," he says.

And being the dedicated, self-disciplined achiever that he is, Rahul would probably be playing golf if he hadn't found cricket. "I say golf because it's a sport you can master without much help from others," concludes The Wall.

I have been around for too long to be perturbed by these things : Another slap in the face of Shoaib akhtar

2011-10-16T20:38:00.000-07:00

These days, even a Shoaib Akhtar writes an autobiography. Before publishing the same, he is made fully aware (by his publishers) that it's just not going to sell. So what to do? - Akhtar decides to write in his book that Sachin Tendulkar and Dravid are not match-winners. Now, was this a promotion or a demotion?
Sachin replied back- "It is below my dignity to comment"
Rahul Dravid said, "I'm neither hassled, nor shocked or even disturbed. He has an opinion, and so is free to express. I have been around for too long to be perturbed by these things."

Two tight slaps from legends of cricket within a week is what Shoaib Akhtar has earned. Good going Rawalpindi Express!