Dravid, the Least Hyped Superstar of Cricket Quits International Arena
Indian Cricketer, Rahul Dravid has decided to call it a day and it is curtain for an illustrious cricketing career that spanned for around 16 years. The 39 year old Dravid had captured the imagination of cricket fans all over the world and we all would be really sad at his decision to hang his boots. He may not have the flamboyance or may not be a flashy cricketer, but if we look at his achievement in test and one day cricket, then we would realize his true greatness.
Dravid's Test Cricket Career
Dravid made his test debut Vs England at Lord's in 1996, where is scored a brilliant 95. He is the second highest run getting in Test cricket with a career aggregate of 13288 runs 164 matches and 286 innings at an amazing average of 52.31. He is one of the greatest Test cricketers we have seen and is the proud owner of perfect copy book styled shots with amid perfection and that is the reason why he is known as "The Wall". He is one of the most technically sound batsman that the world has seen and he had maintained that technical correctness throughout his career. 36 centuries and 63 half centuries in a test career spanning 164 matches, really speaks about his greatness and caliber. Dravid has also captained India during which he had a mixed experience. Dravid along with Tendulkar, Laxman and Ganguly formed the backbone of Indian Test team for a long time. He played his last test against Australia in 2012 and it was in the Australian soil.
Dravid's One Day Cricket Career
Dravid made his one day international cricket career in 1996 against Sri Lanka in Singapore and had a really slow start to his career. Initially he was not considered as a One day material due to his copy book style and slow scoring rate and was even dropped from the ODI team after few years. But Dravid came back strongly and cemented his position in the Indian ODI team and did not look back since then. Dravid amassed a run aggregate of 108889 runs from 344 matches and 318 innings at an average of 39.16. He also served as the wicket keeper for India for a long time and has taken 196 catches and 14 stumpings. In ODIs Dravid has scored 12 centuries and 83 half centuries to his credit. He has been part of 3 world cup cricket tournaments which includes 1999, 2003 and 2007. He was the top run scorer in 1999 Cricket world Cup and also played his own part in the 2003 world cup campaign which India lost to the Australians in the Finals. Dravid played his last ODI against England in 2011, leaving a huge void in the middle order of Indian batting line up.
Dravid had been part of major cricketing victories for India and has also been one of the gentleman cricketers the world has ever seen. Even though his career performances were very much overshadowed by the presence of other flashy and flamboyant players such as Tendulkar, Ganguly, Laxman and Yuvraj Singh, he is sure to be remembered as a great cricketing figure which would be a role model for upcoming cricketers. The void left by Dravid, especially in Test cricket is really difficult to cover as there are no such Test quality batsman capable of replacing Dravid in the current bench.
Due to the amazing technical correctness of Rahul Dravid, he was able to perform exceptionally well in all the countries irrespective of the nature of the pitch and other climatic conditions. He was one of the rare Indian cricketer who performed well both at home and abroad, which has lead to a lot of fan following his across the globe. He was always there when India needed him and always played up to the expectation of million fans.
Dravid has decided to quit international cricket at the right time as his future was uncertain after a recent disastrous tour in Australia and ever since there has been a huge uproar against the batting trio of Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman. Dravid's decision has brought an end to a golden period of Indian cricket which would be remembered for a long time to come.
