I hope you like this book, which I have started writing.
I am a huge cricket fan, and a big Rahul Dravid fan, and thus thought of undertaking this book for the good.
I anyways hope all cricket fans, like me, can enjoy this book.
Dedicated to @MeMineMyself for his equal passion towards cricket.
Feel free to vote and comment.
Chapter 1
An introduction to Rahul Dravid
Rahul Sharad Dravid was born to Sharad Dravid and Pushpa Dravid. He was born on January 11, 1973 in Indore.
He has played for many teams across his career namely, India, Scotland, Asia XI, Canterbury, ICC World XI, Karnataka ,Kent, Marylebone Cricket Club,Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Rahul Dravid was probably one of the last classical Test match batsmen. His progress into the national side may have been steady and methodical rather than meteoric, but once there, Dravid established himself at the vanguard of a new, defiant generation that were no longer easybeats away from home.
Armed with an orthodox technique drilled into him by Keki Tarapore, he became the cement that held the foundations firm while the flair players expressed themselves. Yet, for a man quickly stereotyped as one-paced and one-dimensional, he too could stroke the ball around when the mood struck him.
For the same reason, he was nicknamed “The Wall”. His nickname was devised from a Reebok advertisement, and he came to be called so ever since.
His temperament was shown at Adelaide in 2003, when India won a Test in Australia for the first time in a generation, he batted 835 minutes over two innings. A few months later, he was at the crease more than 12 hours for the 270 that clinched India's first series win in Pakistan.
Initially seen as a liability in the one-day arena, he retooled his game over the years to become an adept middle-order finisher. The heaves and swipes didn't come naturally, but by the time the selectors eased him aside in early 2008, he had more than 10,000 runs to his name in the 50-over game. There had also been a lengthy phase where he donned the wicketkeeping gloves, helping the team to find a balance that was crucial in the run to the World Cup final in 2003.
He made his debut in ODI’s on April 3, 1996 against Sri Lanka at a neutral venue, Singapore. Dravid didn’t manage a big score there, but his technique of game play was one to admire.
Dravid made his test debut at Lord’s against England in the Test held between June 20-24, 1996. He impressed selectors on debut with calm knock of 95 from 363 balls. Incidentally, the same match marked the debut for Sourav Ganguly, who also impressed with a 131 runs from 435.
At a young age of 23, he showed that he could hold on to his nerves and hold the Indian innings together. His key talent was to wear the bowlers down and pounce onto the loose deliveries that followed.
Jason Gillespie, the famous Australian fast bowler, quoted, “I can’t recall beating him more than one ball in a row. The game of cricket is the battle between bat and ball. It is about who loses patience first; that determines the winner. Rahul Dravid was the master at staying patient for long, long periods of time. He won the battles more often.”
He played only a solitary T20I for India against England at Manchester on August 31, 2011 where he scored a quickfire 31 from 23 balls.
Dravid's immense levels of concentration also came in handy when he was standing in the slips. Most of his catches were taken in that cordon as he overtook Mark Waugh to become the most successful slip catcher in history.
He took the most catches in Tests, 210 catches in 164 Test matches, making him the most distinguished and one of the best fielders in Tests.
He also captained India following Ganguly’s axing. Although less successful, he led the team to series victories in England and West Indies, for the first time in a generation.
A/N- So how was the introduction? Hope you liked it.
I will update a little slowly because of the research work included in this and my upcoming examinations.
I would also like to inform you that this chapter is just a briefing. The details will be elaborated in the upcoming chapters.
