Rahul Dravid
From ePedia, the electronic encyclopedia
Rahul Sharad Dravid (born 11 January 1973 in Indore, Madhya Pradesh) is an Indian cricketer, and the current captain of the Indian cricket team. He is one of the top-ranked batsmen in world cricket and started his international cricket career in 1996. He is married to Vijeta Pendharkar, a Nagpur-based doctor, with whom he has a son, Samit, born October 2005.
As of November 2005, Dravid has the second highest Test batting average among those who have scored over 7,500 Test runs, just behind Gary Sobers.
Dravid's style
Once considered a very defensive batsman who should be confined to Test cricket, Rahul Dravid has defied those early perceptions to become the mainstay of the Indian batting line in ODIs as well as in Tests. He has been nicknamed "The Wall" (borrowed from a sports goods advertisement in which he once appeared) by fans due to the solidity and consistency of his batting. Dravid has scored 22 centuries in Test cricket at a phenomenal average of 57.65, including 5 double centuries, whilst in one-dayers he has an average of 40.16 at an acceptable strike rate of 70. He is one of the few Indians who average more at away matches than at home, averaging about 10 more runs a match abroad than on Indian pitches. As of 28 October, 2005, Dravid's average in overseas Tests stood at 63.20 as against his overall Test average of 57.62, and his average for away ODI stands at 42.95 as against overall ODI average of 39.60. In matches India has won, Rahul Dravid averages a staggering 79.51 and 51.54 in Tests and ODI respectively.
Dravid's only Test wicket was that of Ridley Jacobs in the fourth Test against the West Indies during the 2001-2002 series. While he has no pretensions to being a bowler, Dravid was often seen keeping wickets for India in ODIs, an 'experiment' that continued for several seasons. He has since delegated the wicket-keeping gloves, first to Parthiv Patel and more recently to Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Dravid is now purely a batsman, one whose Test average has soared to 67.56 in matches played since 1 January, 2000.
Dravid has been involved in two of the largest parnerships in ODIs: a 318-run partnership with Sourav Ganguly, thus becoming the first pair to combine for a 300-run partnership, and then a 331-run partnership with Sachin Tendulkar, which is the present world record. He holds the record for the longest unbroken streak for consecutive Tests from debut for any played. This record just got broken recently as Dravid could not play the third test match versus Sri Lanka due to viral fever. He also holds the record for the greatest number of innings since debut before being dismissed for a duck. His highest scores in ODI's and Tests are 153 and 270 respectively. Uniquely, each of his five double centuries in Tests was a higher score than his previous double century (200, 217, 222, 233, 270).
Schooled at St. Joseph's Boys High School, Bangalore, and college in St. Joseph's College Of Commerce. He was coached by Keki Tarapore, Dravid has played English domestic cricket for Kent and Scotland. He also led Karnataka to the Ranji Trophy, scoring a double century in the process in the final. He made his Test debut against England at Lords in the 2nd Test match of India's Test tour of England in 1996, and his ODI debut against Sri Lanka at Singapore in the Singer Cup tournament in the same year. He was named one of the Wisden cricketers of the year 2000.
In 2004, Dravid was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India. On 7 September 2004, he was awarded the inaugural Player of the year award and the Test player of the year by the International Cricket Council, ICC (associated image below). Dravid's batting average of 95.46 in the past year has made him the only Indian to be in the Test team of the year. This had been due to his consistent performance in diverse pitches and playing conditions and his ability to handle pressure and quality bowling. His soft-spoken demeanour belies his steely nature, leading Steve Waugh to remark in a column that the only way to dismiss him was to pray for a mistake and ensure that he is not provoked by refraining from sledging. On 18th March, 2006, Dravid played his 100th test against England in Mumbai.
In 2005, a biography of Rahul Dravid written by Devendra Prabhudesai was published which is titled The Nice Guy who finished first.
Dravid was nicknamed "Jammy" by schoolmates because his father worked for Kissan, famous for its jams and preserves. He is also "The Wall" by the press for his ability to bat for a long time.
As of November 2005, Dravid has the second highest Test batting average among those who have scored over 7,500 Test runs, just behind Gary Sobers.
Dravid's style
Once considered a very defensive batsman who should be confined to Test cricket, Rahul Dravid has defied those early perceptions to become the mainstay of the Indian batting line in ODIs as well as in Tests. He has been nicknamed "The Wall" (borrowed from a sports goods advertisement in which he once appeared) by fans due to the solidity and consistency of his batting. Dravid has scored 22 centuries in Test cricket at a phenomenal average of 57.65, including 5 double centuries, whilst in one-dayers he has an average of 40.16 at an acceptable strike rate of 70. He is one of the few Indians who average more at away matches than at home, averaging about 10 more runs a match abroad than on Indian pitches. As of 28 October, 2005, Dravid's average in overseas Tests stood at 63.20 as against his overall Test average of 57.62, and his average for away ODI stands at 42.95 as against overall ODI average of 39.60. In matches India has won, Rahul Dravid averages a staggering 79.51 and 51.54 in Tests and ODI respectively.
Dravid's only Test wicket was that of Ridley Jacobs in the fourth Test against the West Indies during the 2001-2002 series. While he has no pretensions to being a bowler, Dravid was often seen keeping wickets for India in ODIs, an 'experiment' that continued for several seasons. He has since delegated the wicket-keeping gloves, first to Parthiv Patel and more recently to Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Dravid is now purely a batsman, one whose Test average has soared to 67.56 in matches played since 1 January, 2000.
Dravid has been involved in two of the largest parnerships in ODIs: a 318-run partnership with Sourav Ganguly, thus becoming the first pair to combine for a 300-run partnership, and then a 331-run partnership with Sachin Tendulkar, which is the present world record. He holds the record for the longest unbroken streak for consecutive Tests from debut for any played. This record just got broken recently as Dravid could not play the third test match versus Sri Lanka due to viral fever. He also holds the record for the greatest number of innings since debut before being dismissed for a duck. His highest scores in ODI's and Tests are 153 and 270 respectively. Uniquely, each of his five double centuries in Tests was a higher score than his previous double century (200, 217, 222, 233, 270).
Schooled at St. Joseph's Boys High School, Bangalore, and college in St. Joseph's College Of Commerce. He was coached by Keki Tarapore, Dravid has played English domestic cricket for Kent and Scotland. He also led Karnataka to the Ranji Trophy, scoring a double century in the process in the final. He made his Test debut against England at Lords in the 2nd Test match of India's Test tour of England in 1996, and his ODI debut against Sri Lanka at Singapore in the Singer Cup tournament in the same year. He was named one of the Wisden cricketers of the year 2000.
In 2004, Dravid was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India. On 7 September 2004, he was awarded the inaugural Player of the year award and the Test player of the year by the International Cricket Council, ICC (associated image below). Dravid's batting average of 95.46 in the past year has made him the only Indian to be in the Test team of the year. This had been due to his consistent performance in diverse pitches and playing conditions and his ability to handle pressure and quality bowling. His soft-spoken demeanour belies his steely nature, leading Steve Waugh to remark in a column that the only way to dismiss him was to pray for a mistake and ensure that he is not provoked by refraining from sledging. On 18th March, 2006, Dravid played his 100th test against England in Mumbai.
In 2005, a biography of Rahul Dravid written by Devendra Prabhudesai was published which is titled The Nice Guy who finished first.
Dravid was nicknamed "Jammy" by schoolmates because his father worked for Kissan, famous for its jams and preserves. He is also "The Wall" by the press for his ability to bat for a long time.
0 Comments: