OTD| India’s Wall in Test Cricket, Rahul Dravid was born in 1973

The Indian Men’s team coach and former India captain, Rahul Dravid, is celebrating his 51st birthday today. He is one the greatest batters that world cricket has ever witnessed and his contribution to the success of the Indian team was unmatched. Dravid is known as “The Wall” because of his grit and unwavering technique that he applied while batting. 

Rahul Dravid was one of the brightest prospects in domestic cricket and his impressive performances helped him make his way to the Indian team. 1996 was the breakthrough year for the batter from Karnataka as he made his debut in both ODI and Test cricket this year. In April 1996 he stepped into international cricket when he played his first One-Day international match against Sri Lanka. A couple of months later Dravid was playing his first test match at the iconic Lord’s and his debut was memorable as he scored 95 runs in the very first innings of his test career. 

A Team Man

Rahul Dravid is not regarded as one of the greatest ever to represent India only because of his batting record. It was the will to do anything for the team that was asked of him which made him a special cricketer. Dravid was not a natural wicketkeeper but when captain Sourav Ganguly asked his vice-captain to play that role, he was up for it. 

Very few cricketers have been able to accumulate batting records like Rahul Dravid. He played 164 test matches in his career, the second most for an Indian, where he amassed 13288 runs at a brilliant average of 52.31. Dravid smashed 36 centuries in test cricket along with 63 half-centuries. His ODI career was also glorious as he scored 10,889 runs at an average of 39.16. 

He was entrusted with the captain’s role in a very tumultuous phase of Indian cricket but it was his ability to guide the ship through troubled waters that helped Team India negotiate that phase. The name Rahul Dravid will always be synonymous with greatness for Indian cricket fans.