Rahul Dravid is undoubtedly one of the best batsmen in the history of cricket. Often regarded as Mr. Dependable or The Wall has been a class act on and off the field over the years. If you are looking for a good boy in the cricketing world then it’s Rahul Dravid. He always kept himself away from any controversies and made sure his temperament in the field. His bat did the talking while his humility won hearts off the pitch.
In all sincerity, Rahul Dravid was probably one of the last classical test match batsmen we have seen because there was no one like Rahul Dravid and probably never will be. Starting his career in 1996, Rahul Dravid became the cement of foundation for team India with time. In his initial stages, he could easily stroke the ball all around the park when the mood struck him. We can say Dravid was the classic example of shifting his gears in different formats. His ability to play the test in a calm and composure manner and his ratio change in ODI’s was simply mesmerizing to watch.
It’s true Rahul Dravid was not a natural athlete but what you can achieve with sheer hard work and power of concentration can be learned from this legendary cricketer. In 2003 at Adelaide India won a Test in Australia for the first time in a generation and Dravid batted for 835 minutes over two innings. In the next few months, he was at the crease once again but now for 12 hours in sheer heat and made 270 that helped India clinch series win in Pakistan.
The team selectors may have sidelined Rahul Dravid from ODIs in 2008 but he still had more than 10,000 runs to his name in the 50-over game. Not only this, but he also spent a lot of time wicketkeeping for the Indian team under the captaincy of Saurav Ganguly to help the team find a balance that was crucial having a chase to the World Cup final in 2003.
We are still not able to figure out why he is only remembered for his test mettle. However, it doesn’t matter for a selfless player like Rahul Dravid. Over the years, team India had the service of this legendary player as Dravid showed his class once again on the tour to England in 2011. In a series in which the whole Indian team was outplayed and none other batsmen scored more than 275 runs in the tests, Dravid emerged with 461 runs including three hundred. However, the very next series was his as he announced his retirement soon after returning to India.
Moreover, Dravid’s immense level of concentration at different times is worth acknowledging from time to time. He is also the highest and the most successful slip catcher of all time. Let us have a look at some of the stats of Rahul Dravid.
Rahul Dravid’s Stats Over the Years
| Format | Match | Inns | Runs | HS | Ave | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s | NO |
| Tests | 164 | 286 | 13288 | 270 | 52.31 | 42.51 | 36 | 63 | 1654 | 21 | 32 |
| ODI | 344 | 318 | 10889 | 153 | 39.16 | 71.23 | 12 | 83 | 950 | 42 | 40 |
| T20I | 1 | 1 | 31 | 31 | 31.0 | 147.6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| FC | 298 | 497 | 23794 | 270 | 55.33 | – | 68 | 117 | – | – | 67 |
| List A | 449 | 416 | 15271 | 153 | 42.30 | – | 21 | 112 | – | – | 55 |
| T20 | 109 | 101 | 2586 | 75* | 27.51 | 113.8 | 0 | 13 | 311 | 34 | 1 |
Rahul Dravid Career Achievements
- Rahul Dravid is the quickest Indian to make 13,000 runs in test cricket. He is also the only batsman till date to have hit a century against each test playing nation. His accolades not only step here as he is one of the three Indian batsmen to have registered a hundred in both innings of a test match. Dravid achieved this feat twice, against New Zealand at Hamilton in 1990(190,103*) and against Pakistan in 2005(110,135).
- Rahul Dravid is also the Indian cricketer to score a hundred in 4 consecutive innings. He achieved this stellar feat against England in 2002 at Nottingham, Leeds and The Oval respectively and a century against West Indies in Mumbai.
- Rahul Dravid also has the 2nd highest aggregate in the 2nd innings of test cricket, a massive 4984 runs from 89 innings at an average of 60.78 and 25 hundred and 24 fifties to his name.
- Rahul Dravid was the highest run getter in 1999 World Cup where he scored magnificent 461 runs.
- It was his under-captaincy, India, who held the world record for the most number of consecutive ODI wins at 17 and also beat South Africa in South Africa back in 2006.
- His 11 man of the match awards in test matches saw 8 of those result in victories for the country with 5 coming in overseas conditions. The fact is no Indian cricketer till date has won more Man of the Match awards in overseas test matches than him. He also won 4 Man of the series awards in the longest format of the game, all on foreign soil.
- Rahul Dravid was also involved in 32039 partnership runs in total, which is the most by any cricketer. With 88 100-run partnerships and 126 50-run partnerships, Dravid has the most number of centuries and half centuries in the game.
Awards Won By Rahul Dravid
1998 -> He was an Arjuna Award recipient for achievements in cricket
1999 -> He was elected as CEAT International Cricketer of the World Cup
2000 -> One of the five cricketers selected as Wisden Cricketer of the Year.
2004 -> He was ICC Cricketer of the year – The highest award in the ICC listings
2004 -> He received Padma Shri – India’s fourth-highest civilian award
2004 -> He was ICC Test Player of The Year, ICC Cricketer of The Year MTV Youth Icon of the Year for 2004
2006 -> He was Captain of the ICC’s Test Team
2012 -> He received Don Bradman Award with Glenn McGrath
2013 -> He was honored with Padma Bhushan – India’s third highest civilian award
2015 -> He was Wisden India’s Highest-Impact Test Batsman
2018 -> He was ICC Hall of Fame.
Endnotes
Rahul Dravid has started a new inning after becoming the head coach of team India. We all hope that he brings in his years of experience and amazing teaching experience and helps team India win many series and most importantly T20I and ODI world cups. We hope you have liked this blog on Rahul Dravid and his accomplishments. Until Next Time, Goodbye!