Rahul Dravid: The Wall of Indian Cricket | Stats | Career

With an unflinching defence and an almost meditative focus, Rahul Dravid could wear down the world's best bowlers. His immaculate batting technique, characterised by a rock-solid defence and elegant stroke play, allowed him to counter the most aggressive fast bowlers across the globe. Dravid's patience and mental fortitude were legendary and he had the rare ability to focus and go on for hours and hours, methodically dismantling the opposition's attack. Rahul Dravid was ‘The Wall’ of the Indian cricket team for nearly one and a half decades. Dravid batted at the toughest batting spot - number three, and owned it with his ability.

So in this article by ZAP, let’s know more about Rahul Dravid, his life, biography, runs scored, his records and his term as the Indian Cricket Team Coach. 

Rahul Dravid - Early Life, Age and Domestic Cricket Career

Rahul Dravid was born on 11 January, 1973 (current age 51) in Indore, Madhya Pradesh in a Brahmin family. His family moved to Bangalore after a few years and young Rahul started playing cricket at an early age of 12. He played for Karnataka as he represented his state in U15, U17 and U19 categories. Along with cricket, Dravid was equally devoted to academics. After making a mark in junior cricket, Rahul was picked for Ranji trophy in 1991 where he made the most of it getting selected for South Zone Cricket Team and Duleep Trophy the same year. 

With his consistency in the domestic circuit, selectors called him in Indian team in 1994.

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Rahul Dravid - International Cricket Career

After being selected for the Indian Cricket Team in 1994, Dravid couldn't make his debut in the blue jersey and had to go back to domestic cricket to prove his mettle once again. Then, coming back in 1996, Rahul Dravid finally debuted in ODIs on 3rd April,1996 against Sri Lanka. It was only a matter of time until he made his Test debut, which was on June 20, 1996, against England. 

Dravid was a pillar in India’s batting line up. His playing style was very sound and he was one of the most stylish batters in the world. His defence was rock solid and his punch stroke was so powerful that it used to go for boundaries like a bullet. His batting was like poetry, as it had a fine balance of elegance and strength. 

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The BCCI and selectors had huge confidence in Rahul and they assigned him the duties of becoming the captain of India at the 2007 World Cup and in a few test matches as well. His record as a skipper was decent at best. India crashed out of the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup in the group stages, the worst finish ever.

Though he could only win one ICC Trophy in his entire career, which was the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy, which India shared alongside Sri Lanka after the final match had to be washed, his personal milestones were very impressive. He is one of the two batsmen to score 10,000 runs at a single batting position. In 2002, he broke the record for taking the most catches in test cricket, that is, 210.

In 2004, Rahul Dravid became the first player to score a century in all ten test playing nations. He is the fourth highest run scorer in test cricket history after Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, and Jacques Kallis. Dravid also holds the record for facing the maximum number of balls in test cricket: 31,258. 

Rahul Dravid played his last Test match on 24 January, 2012 V Australia and his last ODI on September 16, 2011 V England. In 2013, Dravid made the big decision to bid farewell to all forms of cricket.

Rahul Dravid - Stats, Runs, Centuries 

The Wall, Rahul Dravid has been one of cricket's most prolific batsmen across all formats of the game. Dravid played 164 Test matches, scoring 13,288 runs with a highest score of 270, maintaining an average of 52.31 and a strike rate of 42.51. He scored 36 centuries and 63 half-centuries in the red ball format. In One Day Internationals (ODIs), he played in 344 matches, scoring 10,889 runs with an average of 39.16 with a strike rate of 71.23. He notched up 12 centuries and 83 fifties in ODIs. His brief stint in T20 Internationals saw him play just one match, scoring 31 runs.

In all formats, Rahul Dravid played a total of 509 international matches, scoring an astounding 24,208 runs. He has an exceptional record of 48 centuries and 146 half-centuries, and is one of the players with the most runs and centuries in cricket history.

Rahul Dravid - The Indian Cricket Team Coach

After ending his international playing career, Rahul Dravid transitioned into coaching. He became the Head Coach of the Indian Cricket Team in November of 2021.

Before this role, he coached India A and India U19 teams. As the U19 coach, Dravid led the team to victory in the 2018 ICC U19 Cricket World Cup.

Dravid is also a mentor to many young athletes in India through the Rahul Dravid Athlete Mentorship Programme, which supports future Olympic and Paralympic competitors. Towards the end of his playing days, he became a mentor for the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL and later for the Indian national team during their 2014 England tour.

In 2015, he became the head coach for the India U19 and India A teams. Under his guidance, the U19 team reached the finals of the 2016 U19 World Cup and won the 2018 U19 World Cup, producing future stars like Rishabh Pant and Ishan Kishan.

Dravid also mentored the Delhi Daredevils in the IPL. In July 2019, he was appointed Head of Cricket at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), where he managed all cricket activities and revamped player fitness programs.

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