Rahul Dravid, who has retired from international test cricket at the age of 39, was the cornerstone of a stellar batsman Indian middle order.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFDzB38HurE
RAHUL DRAVID : GREAT WALL OF INDIAN CRICKET RETIRES FROM TEST CRICKET. HAT OFF TO RAHUL DRAVID FOR MAKING EVERY INDIAN PROUD WITH HIS UNRELENTLESS EFFORTS HE HAD PUT IN THE GAME OF INDIAN CRICKET.
Rahul Sharad Dravid was born on 11 January 1973 is a former Indian cricketer and captain of the Indian Test cricket and One Day International teams.
| First Name | Rahul |
| Last Name | Dravid |
| Birth Name | Rahul Dravid |
| Nick Name | Tha Wall, Jammy |
| Date of Birth | Thursday, January 11, 1973 |
| Place of Birth | Indore, Madhya Pradesh |
| Mother | Pushpa Dravid |
| Father | Sharad Dravid |
| Brother | Vijay Dravid |
| Wife | Vijeta Pendharkar |
| Son | Samit Dravid and Anvay Dravid |
| Education | St. Joseph's Boys' High School and St. Joseph's College of Commerce |
| Height | 5 ft 11 inch (1.80 m) |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Occupation | Cricketer |
| Batting Style | Right Handed |
| Bowling Style | Right Arm Off Spin |
| Role in Team | Middle Order Batsmen and Wicketkeeper |
| Debut | Test debut: Vs England, 20 June 1996 ODI debut: Vs Srilanka, 3 April 1996 T-20 debut: N/A |
| Highest Batting Rankings: | In Test: 1 on 2nd January 1999 In ODI: 5 on 27 August 2007 |
| Awards And Achievements: | Arjuna award : 1998 Wisden Cricketer of the Year : 2000 Padma Shri: 2004 ICC Test Player of The Year : 2004 MTV Youth Icon of the Year: 2004 Captain of the ICC's Test Team : 2006 |
Dravid was honoured as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 2000. Dravid was also awarded the ICC Player of the Year and the Test Player of the Year at the inaugural awards ceremony held in 2004. Dravid also holds the record of having taken the most number of catches in Test matches. On 9 march 2012, he announced his retirement from international cricket.
On 7 August 2011 after getting a surprise call to play in ODI series against England he declared his retirement from One Day Internationals and T20.
Popularly hailed as "The Wall of Indian cricket", Dravid is regarded by many to be one of the greatest batsmen in the history of the game. Dravid holds multiple cricketing records. He is the second Indian batsman, after Sachin Tendulkar, and the third international player to reach 12,000 runs in Test cricket. On 14 February 2007, he became the sixth player overall and the third Indian (after Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly), to score 10,000 runs in ODI cricket in cricketing history. He is the first and only batsman to score a century in all ten Test playing nations. With more than 200 catches, Dravid currently holds the world record for the most number of catches in Test cricket. Dravid has also been involved in more than 80 century partnerships with 18 different partners and has been involved in 19 century partnerships with Sachin Tendulkar – a world record.
On 24 November 2011, He became the second international player to reach 13,000 runs in Test Cricket only after Sachin Tendulkar.
On 14 December 2011, he became the first non-Australian cricketer to address at the Bradman Oration in Canberra.
Dravid has been bowled 55 times in Test cricket, going past Allan Border's previous record of 53.
On 09 March 2012, Rahul Dravid announced his retirement from International Cricket. Dravid made the announcement with the BCCI president, N Srinivasan and former captain Anil Kumble at a press conference in Bangalore.
In a press conference in Bangalore, India`s batting stalwart Dravid announced his retirement from international and domestic cricket where he has been a star for over 15 years.
Tributes poured in for the Indian batting legend Rahul Dravid, who called time on his international cricket career on Friday.
Even though Dravid’s decision didn’t come as a surprise for legendary Sunil Gavaskar, he said it has left a big hole in Indian cricket. "It will be a big hole to fill. It was a decision in the pipeline for some time, because once a player gets 35-36, talks of leaving the game are at the back of his mind, so really didn`t come as a surprise," he said.
Former Indian pace spearhead Javagal Srinath completely endorsed Dravid's decision to retire, saying he has done it at the right time.
"It was a well planned one. He has done it at the right time and I completely endorse his decision. I don`t see Dravid`s value diminishing in any way since he has retired. I see his stature increasing," Srinath said.
“I've been very fortunate and wonderfully privileged to be involved in many match-winning partnerships with him for the last 15 years or so,” said VVS Laxman on Dravid’s retirement.
“Rahul has been a true performer and his contribution to Indian cricket is immense. He has been an inspiration to us all. However, I'm not surprised by his call to retire. It was inevitable. All of us are at the fag end of our careers and each one of us has to move into the twilight. Rahul had called me up three days back and told me about his decision,” he said.
Australian all-rounder Shane Watson described his IPL teammate as a “phenomenal man” and said Dravid was contemplating whether he was actually going to come out to Australia.
"I was actually talking to Rahul during the IPL last year and he was contemplating whether he was actually going to come out to Australia," Watson was quoted as saying by Sydney Morning Herald. "But after having such an amazing England series he obviously felt it would be a great option to come out to Australia. I suppose in the end it showed the dominance of our bowlers because Rahul was still in pretty good touch but our bowlers just bowled so well to him.”
Shane Watson is part of the IPL team Rajasthan Royals which is led by Rahul Dravid. "I`ve been very lucky to have a really good association with Rahul. He`s probably the nicest guy - no, he is the nicest guy - that I`ve met in cricket. He`s a phenomenal man. He loves the game with so much passsion, it`s in his blood and in his heart. He is certainly going to be sorely missed by the Indian public and the cricket loving public as well,” he added.
"I suppose I`m lucky that he`s my captain for Rajasthan so I`ll continue to talk cricket as much as I possibly can because I do love talking to him. He`s got a lot of knowledge to be able to give."
Earlier, praising Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar said there can be "no other" cricketer like him. "There was and is only one Rahul Dravid. There can be no other. I will miss Rahul in the dressing room and out in the middle," Tendulkar said.
Test cricket`s two most prolific batsmen, Tendulkar and Dravid together fashioned many of India`s famous wins with crucial partnerships over the past one and a half decade.
In his column for an Indian daily, former Australian captain Ian Chappell said Dravid’s decision brings to a close one of the more successful careers in cricket. “He was one of the fairest and most respected competitors in the game. At a time when money rules the game and clouds the decision making process, Dravid gave the impression that integrity was more important than riches. He always played and captained with pride and dignity,” he wrote.
“Dravid's unselfishness and integrity deserved a dream finish. He didn't get one but Rahul can hold his head high knowing his second last series was one of his best. Fortunately he was smart enough to realise it shouldn't lure him into playing on too long.”
Former India coach John Wright called Rahul Dravid one of India's greatest batsmen mainly because of his ability to score in all conditions. “From a personal perspective, Rahul is one of the best men I've ever worked with. He always had a great awareness of what the team needed. In short, he's not only a great cricketer, but a great man,” he wrote in his column for a daily newspaper.
“I owe a lot to Rahul. He helped me a great deal during my tenure as coach of India (2000 to 2005). I worked with him at Kent as well as in India where he was the backbone of our batting, particularly overseas. We had a number of great players, but a lot of victories were built around his contributions.”
Those who took to the social networking site Twitter to wish 'The Wall' included England batsman Yuvraj Singh, Kevin Pietersen, former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu and Mandira Bedi among aothers, who expressed their feelings soon after announcement.
Ailing cricketer Yuvraj Singh tweeted: “Congrats to Rahul Dravid on an amazing career! You will be missed. Fantastic person and Cricketer! India's #wall.”
“Rahul Dravid-LEGEND!! Plain & simple.. congrats on an incredible career!! India WILL miss #thewall,” tweeted Kevin Pietersen. Mandira Bedi wrote,” The end of an era. R Dravid personified class, propriety & dependability. The wall stands tall today too as he retires. India will miss him.”
Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan joined the pack to wish Dravid by tweeting, "They say sport serves society by providing vivid examples of excellence. To me the most vivid & dependable has to be Rahul Dravid."
“Congrats on a Fantastic, Superb International Career! The Great Legend Rahul Dravid !!The wall will be miss!!,” tweeted Chris Gayle.
“Some succeed because they are destined to, but Rahul Dravid succeeded because he was DETERMINED to,” wrote Navjot Singh Sidhu.
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