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Wall in the hall of fame
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Rahul Dravid has silenced his critics with his 10,000 runs in Test cricket
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Blazing away Fans of Rahul Dravid hope he will make an impact in the Twenty 20 matches too
A little over six months ago, Rahul Dravid stunned cricket lovers the world over by abdicating from the captaincy of the Indian Cricket team. Even as speculation was rife about the reasons for Rahul’s abrupt decision citing differences of opinion with the Chairman of the BCCI Selectors, the former Indian skipper maintained a stoic silence on the issue. Last week at Chennai, “The Wall” made a loud statement but it was not Dravidbut his famous Reebok bat that did all the talking. En route to his 25th test century, Rahul Dravid joined an illustrious band of five other cricketers who have scaled the 10,000 run peak in Test Cricket. Sunil Gavaskar, Allan Border, Steve Waugh, Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar are the others who have pitched their flags on this Himalayan Peak.
Rahul Dravid is a well- loved person who could turn out to be a successful diplomat when he quits the cricketing arena. He has tremendous grace and etiquette and speaks fluently. Every word that he utters is carefully thought out and like the present India captain Anil Kumble, he will never put his foot into his mouth with off-the-cuff remarks. There were times when as India Skipper, inane questions were put to him in the post-match press conferences.
He may have grimaced or let his body language show at the prospect of answering these volleys, but he always held his composure and came up with a stock reply.
Recently he impressed a person no less than Vijay Mallya when he made a pithy statement on the different forms of cricket that are being played. Vijay Mallya had just completed bidding for the players that would play in his franchise, The Bangalore Royal Challengers when someone pointed out to Mallya that he had chosen a team that would do well in Test Cricket rather than in Twenty 20.
Dravid who is the Icon Player as well as the captain of the Royal Challengers told Mallya, “Test cricket is like scotch whisky, one-day cricket is like other liquors while Twenty 20 is very much akin to country liquor.”
This statement of Rahul Dravid’s was a very apt comparison and it impressed Mallya to no end.
There was a time when critics carped at Rahul Dravid saying he was not capable of playing one-day cricket. But the perseverant cricketer that he is Rahul put his head down and fought his way back into the one-day squad.
Having got back into the team, Dravid again let his bat blaze away and he went on to join the elite band of ODI players who have also compiled 10,000 runs in this form of the game.
Others to share this achievement are Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Saurav Ganguly, Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting.
Only Lara and Sachin are the other cricketers to have achieved this unique double.
Come mid- April, cricket enthusiasts in the country and the world over would watch with bated breath how Rahul would play in the super fast version of the game, the Twenty-20.
But most players and cricket writers who have followed Rahul Dravid’s progress are of the unanimous opinion that this upright cricketer from Bangalore would strain every sinew to perform, not just play but make an impact.
Get set to see him blaze away in the inaugural match of the Indian Premier League at Bangalore on April 18th.
RAVISHANKAR. D
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