THE WALL - RAHUL DRAVID

A Final  Goodbye

Rahul Dravid famously known as “The Wall” because of his solid defence and technique, which even the greatest bowlers of his time found difficult to crack, has  signed off  his long runnig international carrier of 16 years(1996-2012). Jammy is a great cricketer, As we say “one of  its kind” . He has averaged 52.31 from 164 tests and has  the record of second highest run scorer(13288)only cricketer after Sachin.On his debut on the green turf of lord’s in 1996 , He caught the eyes of the spectators for his clean drives and strong defense by scoring a classy 95. The run that he started in 1996 has come to an end in 2012 after the tour of Australia. In this period of 16 years Dravid and India both have tasted a  fabulous form in cricket. Bringing India on top of ICC Test ranking was his great achievements and also He holds the record of highest catches in tests(210).

He has been a multi -utility player for Indian  team ever since his international debut. He has  played in Test’s, played in ODI’s, kept wickets as a part timer for around 70 ODI's including 2003 world cup, In which India finished as runner up. He took over the captaincy from Ganguly in 2003 in Pakistan, Meanwhile under his captaincy(2003-2007) India jumped from 7th position to 3rd position in ICC test rankings. We can’t forget the match in Adelaide oval where he scored 233 & 72 and India went on to win that match. Also the match that was played  in Kolkata in which India were forced to follow-on by Australia and His timely 180* and 376 partnership with Laxman(281) won a historical match in 2001.So we call him "Mr. Dependable".He was awarded “Player of the year” and “Test player of the year” in the 1st ever ICC  AWARDS function in 2004.

He was a more of  a Test  player than an  ODI player, But in the end his passion for cricket made all the difference. He played 344 ODI’s  and has scored over 10000 runs at an average of 39.16. He was a important phenomenon while chasing, where he used keep wickets in hand and keep the run-rate  ticking. He takes it as a challenge saying “Never give up” and win the game for his team. We can say, he was middle overs batsman than a middle order batsman. He was kind of player liked to play under pressure. Under his captaincy  india broke the record  of 14 consecutive wins by West Indies, placing new record of 16 wins in ODI’s.

He was dropped from ODI’s in 2007, reason given was his low strike-rate and showing respect towards selectors, He continued  playing tests, He was graded  the best No.3 batsman in the world. He holds a record of playing 93 consecutive tests for India from his debut in 1996 to 2005. His  passion for cricket made him back himself  for every criticism that  came in his way. He defended it, as he usually does. He was brought back in to squad for England ODI's in 2011 Because, the on-going squad had  weakness with the seaming ball and again he said, "Yes. I am ready" and scored 79 ball 69 and signed off from ODI’s. As Navjot Singh Sidhu said “Rahul Dravid is a player who would walk on broken glass if his team asks him to”. Showing his respect to the team, He prepares well before every match as per the teams requirements and wins it for the team.

Dravid cut's to point

As a person, He is a very friendly,calm and composed cricketer. I  remember Shah rukh khan calling  Dravid and Ganguly “sharfat ki murthiyan”(idols of good manners) of indian cricket. The stylish Aussie pacer Brett lee said “If you can’t get along with Dravid, then you are struggling in life“. He hasn’t been involved any sledging issues or misbehavior  and in reply, He answers them all by his very popular Defense with bat. Even he can be an attacking catalyst when the team needs, We saw him scoring an electrifying 50 of just 22 balls against New Zealand in Hyderabad.

Tasting All Flavors… He has had success in both Tests and  ODI’s as a batsman but hadn’t played any T20 internationals till 2010.In 2011 that desire was also completed, He came back with his blue jersey and played his 1st T20 internationals at the age of 38 years and 232 days becoming an oldest cricketer to debut in T20 and now it was a success for him in all formats, he made a quick 31 of 21 balls with 3 sixes in an over and shut the mouth of those who  said “Its youngsters game”, The crowd stood astonished seeing those towering sixes. It indicated that he still has enough cricket left in him. 
He had represented as  the Captain of Royal Challengers bangalore in IPL-1 and now has taken  up the job of captaining Rajastan Royals for IPL-5. so now as he had tasted all flavors of cricket and he has called it “The end” making way for youngsters. And  has signed off  a fabulous international career.

The class which he showed to us will be missed and remembered by his fans and cricket lovers all over the world, But in the end I am  happy that he still  is a part of IPL action, showing his  passion towards cricket. Lets wish him all the best for his future. The run that he started in 1996 has come to an end.

For all those cover drives,whip through mid-wicket,Late cuts, pulls or hooks and to hi strong defense , I can just say "It's a Dravid's shot".

 ICC AWARDS , 2004

Thank you Mr.Rahul Dravid for such stylish,classy and entertaining cricket. He is the real Mr.cricket which we oftenly use for Mike Hussey.

My words on  Dravid ” If cricket is gentlemen’s game, Then Dravid is the captain of the game”.