The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Praise for Rahul Dravid from Karnataka mates

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 30, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Sport

Sport - Cricket

Praise for Rahul Dravid from Karnataka mates

Principal Correspondent

Bangalore: As Rahul Dravid raised his arms at sultry Chepauk in acknowledgement of the resounding cheers for his 10,000th Test run, a warm glow of pride suffused the cricketing fraternity here in his hometown.

“It is a great achievement and confirms Rahul Dravid’s iconic status as a Test cricketer. These milestones are very important in a cricketer’s career.

Varying conditions

“He has thought out each and every run and has scored them in varying conditions. I wish him many more runs,” said Javagal Srinath.

Dravid’s immediate peers, with whom he spent his formative years, were also lavish in their praise. “There is no finish line for Dravid,” gushed Vijay Bharadwaj, who attributed Dravid’s runs and longevity to mental toughness.

Mentally tough

“Having known him from our under-19 days I can say that he wasn’t the most talented around at that time but the way he has evolved and played his game is a sheer tribute to his mental toughness and single-minded focus. In fact 10,000 is less and I am sure he will score more,” Bharadwaj said.

Self-belief

For Sunil Joshi, Dravid’s achievement is a testimony to his indomitable self-belief. “I was there recently with him at Chennai and what struck me was his remarkable confidence ahead of the series.

“He has always scored runs and often silenced a few sceptics with his bat. It is a great milestone,” Joshi said.

Efficient

Meanwhile Sujith Somasundar, highlighted the efficiency factor in Dravid’s accumulation of runs. “He has gone about in his usual silent but effective way. Off course I was expecting him to get to the mark earlier but then that’s cricket.

“He has scored a bulk of his runs overseas and delivered when his team needed it the most. He has got some more years left and surely he will end up with big runs,” Somasundar said.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport