MS Dhoni is indeed one of the best team India cricket captains. He is the captain’s cool because of his immense capability to play well under pressure. He can handle the burden of the team alone.
But, before Dhoni, there was another man. The one many called “The Wall of Indian Cricket.” Rahul Dravid was one of the best batsmen, even a better cricketer, in the Indian team.
When he is on strike, he is so stubborn, like the stronghold of a king’s ultimate defense – standing – without a single opening. Awarded with both Padma Shri and Padmabhushan, Dravid contributed a great deal to the Indian cricket team.
Here is a complete profile of his career as a cricketer–
Who Is Rahul Dravid?
Rahul Dravid is the previous captain of the Indian national cricket team. Dravid has scored the fourth-most runs among any of the cricketers ever. He ranks right after Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, and Jaque Kallis.
“I always looked up to Rahul Dravid as a great cricketer. I can’t say that I have copied him but I do try to do whatever his stance or whatever.” – Sachin Tendulkar.
He was born on January 11, 1973, in Indore. Dravid, one of the best test cricketers, has scored centuries against all the ten test-playing countries. He belongs to a Marathi Hindu family. He earned a degree in commerce from St. Joseph’s college in Bangalore.
“Dravid could play attacking cricket like me, but I could never play like him.” – said Chris Gayle
While pursuing an MBA, Rahul Dravid was selected for the Indian national cricket team. Dravid is fluent in four different languages. He can speak Marathi, Kannada, Hindi, and English. Aside from being a right-handed batsman, David was also the wicketkeeper of the Indian team.
Dravid made his international cricket debut in 1996 against Sri Lanka in an ODI. There were several highs and lows in his cricket career until debuting in the world cup in 1999. Dravid’s world cup debut was against South Africa.
“All this going around is not aggression; if you want to see aggression on cricket field, look into Rahul Dravid s eyes” – Mathew Hayden.
After two consecutive losses in the world cup, the India team had a chance to enter the super six stage. A partnership of 237 runs by Sachin and Rahul Dravid made it possible for the team India to remain in the world cup.
Fun fact: Rahul Dravid’s father, Sharad Dravid, used to work for a Jam company named Kissan. Kissan is quite famous in India. Since his father worked in the jam company, he got the nickname Jammy.
After Saurav Ganguly, Dravid became the captain of the team India. He handled the national team of Indian cricket from 2000 to 2007. Rahul Dravid won 48.07% percent of the matches as a captain. He was one of the best defensive cricketers in India. The Indian team won the series in 2007 under the leadership of Dravid.
Batting Career
Here is a brief overview of Rahul Dravid’s batting career–
| Format | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100s | 200s | 50s | 4s | 6s |
| Test | 164 | 286 | 32 | 13288 | 270 | 52.31 | 31258 | 42.51 | 36 | 5 | 63 | 1655 | 21 |
| ODI | 344 | 318 | 40 | 10889 | 153 | 39.17 | 15284 | 71.24 | 12 | 0 | 83 | 950 | 42 |
| T20I | 1 | 1 | 0 | 31 | 31 | 31.0 | 21 | 147.62 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| IPL | 89 | 82 | 5 | 2174 | 75 | 28.23 | 1882 | 115.52 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 268 | 28 |
Praising his personality and game here is what Sourav Gangulay said about rahul Dravid–
“He’s a champion at everything. I really admire him. I am very impressed with the way he approaches life.” – Sourav Ganguly
Bowling Career
Dravid was also the wicket keeper of the Indian national cricket until MS Dhoni. Here is an overview of his bowling career.
| Format | Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBm | Econ | Ave | SR | 5w | 10w |
| Test | 164 | 5 | 120 | 39 | 1 | 1/18 | 1/18 | 1.95 | 39.0 | 120.0 | 0 | 0 |
| ODI | 344 | 8 | 186 | 170 | 4 | 2/43 | 2/43 | 5.48 | 42.5 | 46.5 | 0 | 0 |
| T20I | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| IPL | 89 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
“He is truly the mainstay of the Indian batting. He is the best batsman of India in this era undoubtedly.” – Kapil Dev.
Frequently Asked Questions
As a fan of Dravid, it is ok to have more questions about him. Here are some popular questions people generally ask about Rahul Dravid.
What Is So Special About Rahul Dravid?
In his career in international cricket, Rahul Dravid scored 24177 runs. Dravid is widely regarded as one of the best cricketers in the history of cricket. His resilience and calmness in the face of the intense situation made him Mr. Dependable of the Indian cricket. He is often referred to as The Wall of the Indian cricket team.
Why Is Dravid Called The Wall
Dravid is one of the strongest cricketers the Indian cricket team has ever had. He had the ability to play cool in the face of great pressure. His concentration play in the face of pressure helped him earn the name of The Wall of Indian cricket.
Is Dravid Better Than Sachin?
Dravid and Sachin are both two indispensable gems of the Indian cricket teams. They had their shares of contribution to the country. In test cricket, Dravid scores 65.78 runs in one innings while Sachin does 61.94. But in terms of test average, Sachin scores better than Rahul, scoring 54.75 when Dravid scored 53.03.
Who Made 1 Run In 100 Balls?
Cricketer named L Hutton played 847 balls to score one run. But Rahul Dravid did not take 100 deliveries to score one run. During the Sydney test with Australia, Rahul Dravid took 40 balls to score his first run. In the same match, the infamous Monkeygate incident appeared.
The Wall Of Indian Cricket!
Some say that Rahul Dravid is the wolf who lived for the pack for his contribution to the Indian national cricket team. He was a great batsman, which is proven in his record as the fourth-ranking batsman in test cricket. Dravid was also a fine captain for his team. You will find many contemporary cricketers and enthusiasts praising him.
I hope that you got to know all the relevant information about Rahul Dravid in this article. However, for any other questions, you can ask us in the comment section.
READ MORE…
James Anderson Profile – ICC Ranking, Age, Career Info & Stats
MS Dhoni Profile – ICC Ranking, Age, Career Info & Stats
Virat Kohli Profile – ICC Ranking, Age, Career Info & Stats
Jacques Kallis Profile – ICC Ranking, Age, Career Info & Stats Sports
