Rahul Dravid : The Wall

[VinodKumar's]

Bangalore, March 9, 2012: After 13,288 runs in 164 Tests, Dravid announced his retirement from international cricket, saying: "It is 16 years since I played my first Test match for India and today I feel it is time to move on. Once I was like every other boy in India, with a dream of playing for my country. Yet I could never have imagined a journey so long and so fulfilling."

http://i43.tinypic.com/35jb4wi.jpg

[wizzy]

Guardian's tribute to the Wall...pularips :clap:



http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2012/mar/09/rahul-dravid-india-genius-boundary


It's no surprise that Steve Waugh respected Rahul Dravid. He respected him so much that he asked him to write the foreword to his autobiography. Their mutual admiration was cemented over dinner during India's tour of Australia in 1998, when Dravid asked Waugh incessantly about the mental side of the game. They differ in some respects – Dravid's idea of mental disintegration was the watertight forward defensive – but they share crucial qualities. A love of the dying art of batting time. A rich understanding of the history of the game and particularly the importance of Test cricket. An awareness of how important cricket is but also how important it isn't. Both see way beyond the boundary.

In Dravid, Waugh saw a rare species: the truly worthy adversary, and somebody who prided himself of making the tough, important runs. Waugh wasn't in the gutter very often as Australian captain, yet he happily went there in Adelaide on 16 December 2003, to retrieve the ball after Dravid had hit the winning runs in a sensational second Test. It gave India their first victory in Australia for 23 years. Waugh collected the ball and gave it to Dravid. With this being Waugh's last series in international cricket, some saw it as a symbolic passing of the baton. "Rahul wanted the extra edge that would elevate his game to the next level," said Waugh of that dinner date in 1998, "and at the Adelaide Oval he completed the journey".


Though Dravid was technically beautiful, his often weary face betrayed the fact that batting rarely came easy to him. He did not have the brutal audacity of Virender Sehwag, the poetic elegance of Laxman, the unfathomable, enduring genius of Tendulkar or the sublime cover drive of Ganguly.

What he did have was substance. Dravid will retire with a portfolio of epic innings. Most came abroad; his percentage of Test centuries scored overseas (58) and outside Asia (39) are higher than the other four galacticos.



To talk of Dravid's ability tells only half the story. He exhibited greatness at its most humble, and is one of the most impressive men to play the game: dignified, fair-minded, eloquent (he never used a ghostwriter), gentle, yet tougher than we will ever realise. A Gary Cooper for the new millennium; the kind of man you'd want your son to grow into. Those who advocate Satan for a living would struggle to produce a bad word against him. There was one charge of ball-tampering in 2004, although most seemed to accept it was accidental. That's about it. Ganguly observed that Dravid had the eerie habit of almost always saying the right thing. He pretty much always did the right thing, too. Both were demonstrated at Edgbaston last summer when he defused the row over Ian Bell's controversial dismissal.


"Greatness was not handed to him; he pursued it diligently, single-mindedly," Dravid wrote of Waugh in that foreword. It's a compliment that works both ways. Waugh recognised Dravid as a rare species, and so should we: as somebody who achieved greatness as both a cricketer and as a human being.

[wizzy]

The galacticos..lump in the throat looking at this pic :-(
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/58955000/jpg/_58955657_fabfive_getty.jpg

[tamizharasan]

I never felt this sad when somebody retired from cricket and IMHO, I have never seen anyone who is more selfless than Rahul Dravid in Cricket. I will terribly miss this guy. Great cricketer.

[VinodKumar's]

Thanks for sharing that article Wizzy ...

[V_S]

Kannu Kalangidichu! Harsha on Dravid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUo5C0PXsRM

Miss him a lot, but all the very best for the rest of his life! :thumbsup:

[littlemaster1982]

Adelaide, December 13, 2003: Responding to Australia's huge first-innings score, Dravid scored his first century down under and converted it into a double

http://i42.tinypic.com/sy4llu.jpg

My most favorite shot of Rahul Dravid. No one else plays it as well as him :2thumbsup:

[VinodKumar's]

My thambi's tribute to Rahul .

On most days, when I would announce to everyone that Sachin is God, it was you who made me realize that even a human could be divine.On most days, when the ‘Frodos’ of the world were lured by the power of the ring, you played the perfect ‘Samwise Gamgee’, and kept the quest alive.I will never be able to see you again in whites wearing the blue cap numbered 207, but the image of you kissing the crest that day, the utter joy it brought to you as if nothing else mattered, will forever be etched in memory – as will so many others.

Viva La Dravid...

[VinodKumar's]

Enakku ennanae therla enga Dravid ah pathi yethavathu padichalum rendu naala kan kalangiruthu .... trying to divert me aana mudila ... third most emotional thing in my cricket life

1) 96 semi finals (I was Vinod Kambli's fan then.. appolam avalava cricket theriyaathu potaangala adichaangala avalo thaan ... en perla irunthathunaalayae pudichiruchu + I watched him thrashing warne and his back to back double hundereds ... already sogathula irunthaen Kambli azhuatha udanae ennalayum thaanga mudila)
2) 2011 WC final (naa first paatha WC 96 ... 15 varusham nadakaatha nadakaathanu yenginathu ... ithuku mela itha pathi solla theva illa)
3) RD retirement :|

I know what will be the fourth one ... annaiku most probably I will stop following cricket ... Athukapuramum follow pannana athu Dhoni captain ah iruntha mattum thaan ...

[GSV]

harsha bhogle on Dravid :notworthy: :(

[raajarasigan]

not sure whether Hindu's article by Nirmal Shekar was posted already... very touching... azhudhuttEn.,.. :cry: last time, it happened to me when lara retired... Dravid fan mARinadhu enakke theriyale.. retire Anappuram than manasu romba valikuthu... :sad: athukkappuram endha article'um padikkala...

[venkkiram]

I was Vinod Kambli's fan then.. சொல்லிக்கொள்ற அளவுக்கு பெருமளவில் ரசிகர்கள் இல்லையென்றாலும் இப்படி அங்கே இங்கே தென்படும் ரசிகர்களை ஆச்சர்யத்துடன் பார்க்கமுடிகிறது. நானும் பள்ளிப் பருவத்தில் வினோத் கம்பளி ரசிகன். ஒரு தினப் போட்டியில் காம்பிளியும் திராவிட்டும் ஒரே இடத்திற்கு போட்டிபோட்ட போது ஆடுகளம் பந்து வீச்சிற்கு சாதகமா இருந்ததென்றால் திராவிடிற்கும், அடித்து ஆடுவதற்கு சாதகமாக இருந்தால் காம்பிளிக்கும் வாய்ப்பளிக்கலாம் என நண்பர்களிடம் விவாதம் செய்வதுண்டு. வெறும் பதினேழு டெஸ்ட்டுகளிலேயே காணாமல் போனவர். இரண்டு முறை இரு சதங்கள், இரண்டு ஒரு சதங்கள், மூன்று அரை சதங்களோடு சுவடே தெரியாமல் தொலைந்து போனவர்.

[venkkiram]

Rahul Dravid: The gift of reassurance (http://www.livemint.com/articles/2012/03/10132224/Rahul-Dravid-The-gift-of-reas.html)
-- Rohit Brijnath


He wore polished shoes but never an aura. In a world of Gods, he preferred his humanness, an unadorned man battling his own imperfections with a low-key dignity.


Dravid took cricket seriously but not always himself. Or you. During the 1999 World Cup, on watching me take a few casual swipes with his bat, he fell off his hotel bed laughing and offered this advice: “Please, don’t ever write about technique”. His batting could be classical, yet he never viewed himself as the classical hero. As he said: “My only qualification is that I come on television more than a nurse or a soldier or a teacher. Anyway, I don’t think sportsmen can really be considered heroes.” Indeed, in the evening after his retirement press conference, he suggested with amusement that his immediate future included “practising my new sweep shot with a broom”.


Laxman offered me art, Sehwag liberation, Tendulkar consistent genius, but Dravid taught us that reassurance is a gift. For such a neat man, he loved an ugly scrap. Runs might emerge in unsightly dribbles -- sometimes it was as if to be uninhibited was an act of immodesty for him -- but he’d keep going, a leave, a block, a block, a leave, and this should have been boring -- and well, yes, sometimes it was -- except by the end he’d built a lead, or rescued a situation, or offered us a winning chance and you’d look at this man, shirt bound by sweat, ferocious in his concentration, and just think, bloody hell. Struggle, in all its forms, was his hymn.


And so even as he spoke easily with journalists, his finest conversations were his internal dialogues, which on request he would articulate. After his brilliant match-winning innings in Adelaide 2003, he said: “You can’t concentrate for 10 hours, you switch on and off, you push yourself, your mind wanders, you bring it back, you steel yourself. That’s the real beauty, when you win the battle against yourself.” And he wanted to win, and if he took defeat manfully he also did so painfully. On the night after India had exited the 2007 World Cup under his captaincy, on the phone he sounded as if he was dying.

ரொம்ப நல்லாவே எழுதியிருக்காப்ள! மிக்க நன்றி ரோஹித்! :clap: :clap:

[VinodKumar's]

சொல்லிக்கொள்ற அளவுக்கு பெருமளவில் ரசிகர்கள் இல்லையென்றாலும் இப்படி அங்கே இங்கே தென்படும் ரசிகர்களை ஆச்சர்யத்துடன் பார்க்கமுடிகிறது. நானும் பள்ளிப் பருவத்தில் வினோத் கம்பளி ரசிகன். ஒரு தினப் போட்டியில் காம்பிளியும் திராவிட்டும் ஒரே இடத்திற்கு போட்டிபோட்ட போது ஆடுகளம் பந்து வீச்சிற்கு சாதகமா இருந்ததென்றால் திராவிடிற்கும், அடித்து ஆடுவதற்கு சாதகமாக இருந்தால் காம்பிளிக்கும் வாய்ப்பளிக்கலாம் என நண்பர்களிடம் விவாதம் செய்வதுண்டு. வெறும் பதினேழு டெஸ்ட்டுகளிலேயே காணாமல் போனவர். இரண்டு முறை இரு சதங்கள், இரண்டு ஒரு சதங்கள், மூன்று அரை சதங்களோடு சுவடே தெரியாமல் தொலைந்து போனவர்.

They two played together in Independence cup 97 ... Anwar match la rendu perum 100 + partnership poduvaanga ....

[Kalyasi]

They two played together in Independence cup 97 ... Anwar match la rendu perum 100 + partnership poduvaanga ....

Yeah Dravid made 107 and Kambli 65...

[Kalyasi]

Vinod Kambli Austalasia cup la Shane Warne a ore over la 22 runs adipaan, appo bayangara fan a aayiten... Appo Atul Bedade nu kooda oru player, nalla robin singh maadhiri kadaisila vanthu six adipaapdi, enna aachu ne therila...

[VinodKumar's]

Yeah Dravid made 107 and Kambli 65...

I have been searching Indian innings of that match aana kedaikavae illa. Antha Anwar adicha 194 oda ella videovum mudinjirum :twisted:

[Plum]

Only die_hard Rahul fans will have that video vinod - paki fans don't care about indian innings and patriotic indian fans will not want to watch the indian innings anyway. . Nyaayaama neenga dhaan upload paNNanum :). (I mean, only connoisseurs of Rahul's batting will have reason to remember it - and as you know, we are a very minority group.)

[Plum]

Atul Bedade - poor man's poor man's poor man's Shahid Afridi. I am also remined of our own chennai puyal - who went to NZealand with huge expectations and later did a stint as selector - VBChandrasekar.

[VinodKumar's]

Only die_hard Rahul fans will have that video vinod - paki fans don't care about indian innings and patriotic indian fans will not want to watch the indian innings anyway. . Nyaayaama neenga dhaan upload paNNanum :). (I mean, only connoisseurs of Rahul's batting will have reason to remember it - and as you know, we are a very minority group.)

Sattila sottu thanni kooda illa enga irunthu upload pannurathu. ESPN / Start sports classics la ithellam poduvaanu kooda therla. RD orkut community la kooda ketutaen. IIRC that innings was one of the best from RD. I couldn't recollect anything other than putta potta jersey and Rahul's century celebration ... Kedaikumnu namburaen :)

[VinodKumar's]

Rahul Dravid's retirement

My husband, the perfectionist

While he was very particular about how he approached the game, he had the great ability to leave cricket on the field once the day was done
Vijeeta Dravid
March 12, 2012


I've been married to Rahul for almost nine years now and we have always been very private people. So I'm sure he will be astonished to find that I have written at length about him.
This is not meant to be a song of praise for him on his retirement; that is up to the rest of the world. I am his wife, not a fan, and the reason I am writing this is to give you an insight into the role cricket has played in his life, and to take that in for myself at the end of his 16-year international career.
Just after we got married, I remember him saying to me that he hoped to play for "the next three or four years", and that he would need me there to support him in that time. Now that he has retired, I think: "Not bad. We've done far better than the three or four years we thought about in May 2003."
The last 12 months were special for us for more reasons than the runs or centuries Rahul has scored. After the 2010-11 tour of South Africa, our older son, Samit, suddenly developed a huge interest in cricket. When he watched Rahul score his centuries in England last year, it was as if in the last year of his career, Rahul had found his best audience.
I was with the boys at Old Trafford when Rahul played his first (and last) Twenty20 international and then also travelled to every match of the one-day series. After the last ODI, we went into the Lord's dressing room and showed Samit and Anvay their baba's name on the honours board. It was a huge thrill for the boys to see Rahul play live in front of so many people, to see him at his "work", which kept him away from them for months.


Cricket has been the centre of Rahul's world and his approach to every season and series has been consistent in all the time we have been married. Methodical, thoughtful and very, very organised. When I travelled with him for the first time, in Australia in 2003-04, I began to notice how he would prepare for games - the importance of routines, and his obsession with shadow practice at odd hours of day or night. I found that weird. Once, I actually thought he was sleepwalking!
Now I know that with Rahul's cricket, nothing is casual, unconscious or accidental. Before he went on tour, I would pack all his other bags, but his cricket kit was sacred - I did not touch it; only he handled it. I know if I packed only two sets of informal clothes, he would rotate them through an entire tour if he had to and not think about it. He has used one type of moisturising cream for 20 years because his skin gets dry. Nothing else. He doesn't care for gadgets, and barely registers brands - of watches, cologne or cars. But if the weight of his bat was off by a gram, he would notice it in an instant and get the problem fixed.
Cricket has been his priority and everyone around him knows that. On match days Rahul wanted his space and his silence. He didn't like being rushed, not for the bus, not to the crease. All he said he needed was ten minutes to himself, to get what I call his "internal milieu" settled, before he could go about a match day.
When we began to travel with the kids - and he loved having them around during a series, even when they were babies - we made sure we got two rooms. The day before every game, the boys were told that their father had to be left alone for a while, and Rahul would go into his room for his meditation and visualisation exercises. On the morning of the game, he would get up and do another session of meditation before leaving for the ground. I have tried meditation myself and I know that the zone he gets into as quickly as he does - it takes lots of years of training to get there. It is part of the complete equilibrium he tries to achieve before getting into a series.
Like all players, Rahul has his superstitions. He doesn't try a new bat out for a series, and puts his right thigh pad on first. Last year before the Lord's Test, he made sure to sit in the same space Tillakaratne Dilshan had occupied in the visitors' dressing room when he scored nearly a double-hundred earlier in the season. Rahul scored his first hundred at Lord's in that game.


Once the game is on, at the end of every day he has this fantastic ability to switch off. He may be thinking about it, his batting may bother him, he will be itching to go back and try again, but he can compartmentalise his life very well. He won't order room service or brood indoors, he would rather go out, find something to do - go to a movie or watch a musical, which he loves. He will walk out to the sea to wind down or go to bookstores, or find something else to do.
He has dealt with all that goes on in cricket because he can separate the game and the rest of his life and put things in perspective. No matter what was happening in his cricket, at home he is husband, father, family man. He has never said, "Oh I've had a bad day." He wouldn't speak about his work unless asked. Other than dropped catches.


Only once, I remember, he returned from a Test and said, "I got a bit angry today. I lost my temper. Shouldn't have done that." He wouldn't say more. Many months later, Viru [Sehwag] told me that he'd actually thrown a chair after a defeat to England in Mumbai. He'd thrown the chair, Viru said, not because the team had lost but because they had lost very badly.
One of Rahul's great strengths is his ability - and he has had it all along - to accept reality. He believes you cannot complain about anything because there is no end to complaining. And he knows there is no end to improving either. He always looks within, to gain, to learn and to keep working at his cricket.
In the last few years he worked doubly hard to make sure he played the game in his best physical condition in the toughest phase of his career physically. He tried to understand his body and work on his limitations - he was able to hold off shoulder surgery despite a problem in his rotator cuff because he found ways to keep it strong. When I was pregnant with Samit, we spent two months in South Africa to work in a sports centre that focused on strengthening Rahul's shoulder. Because he sweats profusely, he has even had sweat analysis done, to see how that affects his batting. He found that Pat Cash had a similar problem.
To get fit, he went on very difficult protein diets for three months at a stretch, giving up rice, chapatis and dessert altogether - even though he has a sweet tooth. He wanted his batting and his cricket to benefit from his peak fitness, even heading into his late 30s. He has been to see a specialist in eye co-ordination techniques, for eye exercises for the muscles of his eyes. If there was a problem, he always tried to find answers.
Outside cricket, Rahul is a man of no fuss. If he's on a diet, he will eat whatever is served, as long as it fits the diet. Even if the same food keeps turning up on his plate for days in a row, he will eat it without complaint. If he drops a catch, though, it bothers him enough to talk about it on the phone when we speak in the evening; during matches, it is the only part of cricket that he will talk about without me asking him about it. In 2009 he lost his old, faded India cap, when it was stolen from a ground. He was very, very upset about it. It was dear to him and he was extremely proud to wear it.
People always ask me the reason for Rahul being a "normal" person, despite the fame and the celebrity circus. I think it all began with his middle-class upbringing, of being taught to believe in fundamental values like humility and perspective. He has also had some very old, solid friendships that have kept him rooted.
He is fond of reading, as many know, and has a great sense of and interest in history of all kinds - of the game he plays and also of the lives of some of the world's greatest men. When he started his cricket career, he had a coach, Keki Tarapore, who probably taught him to be a good human being along with being a good cricketer.
All of this has given Rahul a deep understanding of what exactly was important about his being in cricket and what was not. It can only come from a real love for the game. When I began to understand the kind of politics there are in the game, he only said one thing: that this game has given me so much in life that I will never be bitter. There is so much to be thankful for, no matter what else happens, that never goes away.


Cricket has made Rahul who he is, and I can say that he was able to get the absolute maximum out of his abilities as an international cricketer.
What next for him? I know he likes his routine and he's in a good zone when he is in his routine, so we will have to create one at home for him. Getting the groceries could be part of that. A cup of tea in the morning for his wife would be a lovely bonus, I would think, particularly now that he doesn't have to take off for the gym or for training at the KSCA at the crack of dawn.
More seriously, though, I think he will spend time relaxing and reading to let it all sink in a bit. He has loved music and wants to learn how to play the guitar. Then perhaps he would like to find something that fills in at least some of the place that cricket occupied in his life, something challenging and cerebral.
Rahul has lived his dream and he thinks it's time to move on. Retirement will mean a big shift in his life, of not have training or team-mates around him, or the chance to compete against the best. The family, though, is delighted to have him back.


http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/556979.html

[VinodKumar's]

Excellent one on Dravid from none other than his better half. :notworthy:

[SoftSword]

My most favorite shot of Rahul Dravid. No one else plays it as well as him :2thumbsup:

agree, one of his trademark shots...
but remember seeing azhar in that pose as well.

[wizzy]

http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/current/story/557076.html


The contenders
The pundits however find it hard to arrive at a consensus over the most likely candidate capable of filling the void created by Dravid's departure. Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, S Badrinath, Ajinkya Rahane and even VVS Laxman were all the names that came up as men well-equipped in both mind and with bat in hand to tackle the various hurdles faced by a one-down batsman.

VVS at 3 appears plausible
VB Chandrasekhar, the former national selector, said it would not be a bad idea to reinstate Laxman to the No.3 spot. "If they are going to still continue with Laxman, he should be the No.3 for the short term," he said.

But the board official disagreed, saying a more healthy approach would be to think long-term. With India playing their next three Test series (against New Zealand, England and Australia) at home, the selectors had a good opportunity to blood a young talent.

VB not in good terms with Badri :huh:
If he has to look beyond Laxman, Chandrasekhar said he cannot see too many choices beyond Kohli or Rohit. Chandrasekhar qualified his answer by citing the parameters necessary to be a one-down batsman. "Dravid was successful for two reasons primarily.
Considering India had a host of top-order batsmen who were aggressive and if there was an early loss of a wicket, it (situation) required him to come and stonewall. Also, if India had a good start, the team needed someone to sustain the momentum and Dravid did the job successfully again."

however Akashwani bats for Badri :shock:


Aakash Chopra, the former Indian Test opener, said the selectors had the right opportunity now to actually hit upon a long-term No.3 batsman. Though he is a fan of Pujara, Chopra said his other choice would be Badrinath, who played two Tests in the homes series against South Africa in 2010 but never played again. "He has been the prolific batsman on the domestic circuit," Chopra said. "Allow him to be there for a while and see how it goes."

Chopra said even if age was not exactly on his side, Badrinath had the right fitness, attitude and experience to compete with the youth. "He might be on the wrong side of 30s so to speak, but he is as fit as, or even fitter, than anybody else. And he knows how to score big runs."



BCCI 'official' frowns on suggestion to give Badri a go :lol:


Badrinath's case inside the board, however, does not have much support. "Not only is he 30-plus, but he has been tested already. He is a good player at domestic level but unfortunately does not seem to fit at the highest level." The official said the selectors would not be bothered even if the player was inexperienced as long as they felt he had the X-factor. He even cited the example of the Rahul Sharma, the Punjab legspinner, who was criticised as a gamble.

Whoever devised our test schedule for the next 2 years deserves :clap:

[P_R]

Ed Smith on Rahul Dravit http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/557122.html



Gentlemanliness is not mere surface charm - the easy lightness of confident sociability. Far from it: the real gentleman doesn't run around flattering everyone in sight, he makes sure he fulfils his duties and obligations without drawing attention to himself or making a fuss. Gentlemanliness is as much about restraint as it is about appearances. Above all, a gentleman is not only courteous, he is also constant: always the same, whatever the circumstances or the company.
In that sense, Dravid is a true gentleman. Where many sportsmen flatter to deceive, Dravid runs deep. He is a man of substance, morally serious and intellectually curious. For all his understatement, he couldn't fail to convey those qualities to anyone who watched him properly.



Dravid has single-handedly disproved the absurd argument that tantrums and yobbishness are a sign of "how much you care" or, worse still, "how much you want it". Dravid was rarely outdone in terms of hunger or passion. And he was never outdone in terms of behaviour or dignity. Those twin aspects of his personality - the dignified human being and the passionate competitor - ran alongside each other, the one never allowed to interfere with the other.


I think Dravid will be remembered as the last in a great tradition of batsmen whose instincts and temperament were perfectly suited to Test match cricket. It is not an exaggeration to say that a whole strand of the game - a rich vein that runs through the game's poetic heart - departs the scene with India's greatest ever No. 3. Playing Twenty20 cricket won't teach anyone to become the next Rahul Dravid.

In years to come, perhaps too late, we may realise what we have lost: the civility, craft and dignity that Dravid brought to every cricket match in which he played.

veLLaikkaaran veLLaikaaran dhaan 'yA. ennamA ezhudhiyirukkAn :clap:

[Plum]

Adhu avan thaaimozhiyyA! Painter-ai vandhu tamizhla meen pidikka sollunga pAppOm?

[P_R]

karuththugaLai sonnEn.

[Plum]

What stands out is the articulation only no?. The most gentlemanly cricketers of last 30 years - indians. rAgul drAvidan, anilan kumblan, Venakta Laxman, KadavuLan Sachan, ivanga ellOrukkum mEla oru gendilman uNdu - avan pEru Javagalan Srinadhan. PuLLa poochi. If they had proficiency in English language as much as your smith, they are more qualified to talk about gendilmaliness. Enna avanga painter illai - but meen nallaa pudippango.

[P_R]

Yeah, but I liked the fact that he went deep into the idea of gentlimanliness itself.
Criticism of the justification of rowdy behavior as 'passionate'.
oru Engleeskaaranai paarthu "ammA-appA sowkyamA?"-nu kEttirukkAn paarunga. Emotion aayittEn.
And how the acknowledgement bat-raise has a become a "yeah baby" thing about oneself (Viraatan generation)

Ganguly idhellAm padippArA :lol2:

[littlemaster1982]

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/429676_10150616589003068_653253067_9182018_2014678 747_n.jpg

Hilarious :rotfl:

[VinodKumar's]

:lol:

Retirement is temporary , Silky hair is permanent :rotfl:

[wizzy]

Rahul Dravid is now friends with Star cricket....nice touch :lol:

[SoftSword]

searching the loose ones :lol:

[VinodKumar's]

http://i41.tinypic.com/dy7ndv.jpg

[VinodKumar's]

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=MIRRORNEW&BaseHref=MMIR%2F2012%2F03%2F13&ViewMode=GIF&PageLabel=22&EntityId=Ar02100&AppName=1

[SoftSword]

junior coming:

http://i40.tinypic.com/16lierq.jpg

[VinodKumar's]

http://ibnlive.in.com/blogs/rajdeepsardesai/1/63283/a-tale-of-two-rahuls.html

Mokka article :banghead: ...

The first comment for this article is "One line - Its insulting for Dravid to be compared with Rahul Gandhi !" :lol:

[littlemaster1982]

Andhaalukku (Rajdeep) therinjadhu avvalavudhan. Vidunga :)

[venkkiram]

http://im.rediff.com/cricket/2012/mar/28rahul9.jpg

[Cinemarasigan]

http://i41.tinypic.com/dy7ndv.jpg

A True Team Player!! without him Indian team would have not made any mark in overseas!! Great Human Being!! :notworthy:

[satissh_r]

http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/559136.html

Exclusive espncricinfo.com interview

[VinodKumar's]

Steve Waugh message to Dravid.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ehMsbs1fuDI

[VinodKumar's]

Dravid's speech in felicitation


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3MAgkHHIaY&feature=player_embedded

[VinodKumar's]

Dhoni's speech


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKTwSF23-YM&feature=related

[VinodKumar's]

Dada


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVn3BsYYDuw&feature=relmfu

[VinodKumar's]

Sulal ..


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLDYB6rZYbA&feature=relmfu

[VinodKumar's]

Laxman ..


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icSkXA32r00&feature=relmfu

[VinodKumar's]

Happy to see his old partners and young kids in the ceremony :clap: :notworthy:

[P_R]

I just saw Steve Waugh's speech.

And this statistic: http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/player/28114.html?captain=0;class=1;filter=advanced;order by=start;result=1;search_captain=Sourav+Ganguly;sp anmax1=24+Jan+2006;spanmin1=20+Jun+2000;spanval1=s pan;template=results;type=batting;view=match
:clap:

[VinodKumar's]

Rahul's conversation with TCS CEO ...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctKTtXr50-Y (http://www.orkut.com/Interstitial?u=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v%3DctKTtXr50-Y&t=AFZN2JFmULGGXs-24oAcaA0mHGqbNozofhVF6BHPOhTLLepkcou6qJpV89btnA5JB cIcq4CgFTjFWubyjMexdr4Egu0z4qwcLwAAAAAAAAAA)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68A75InEKpk&feature=relmfu (http://www.orkut.com/Interstitial?u=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v%3D68A75InEKpk%26feature%3Drelmfu&t=AJ3bK5cxDQuEgLn61NVNmd-KEf1cS2dp-xVF6BHPOhTLLepkcou6qJpV89btnA5JBcIcq4CgFTjFWubyjMe xdr4Egu0z4qwcLwAAAAAAAAAA)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCXOzspSeeU&feature=relmfu (http://www.orkut.com/Interstitial?u=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v%3DfCXOzspSeeU%26feature%3Drelmfu&t=APB9c44Te4ATi6KAuruNdIC4KldnTrPKTRVF6BHPOhTLLepk cou6qJpV89btnA5JBcIcq4CgFTjFWubyjMexdr4Egu0z4qwcLw AAAAAAAAAA)

This guy's humorous sense is amazing.

[VinodKumar's]

Former
India coach Greg Chappell has ignited a fresh controversy in his newly-released
book on Rahul Dravid, saying had the retired batting great received the same
support that he gave other captains, he would have been the country's most
successful skipper. Chappell wrote that despite Dravid
guiding the Indian team to a number of victories, his success was not enjoyed
by some of the members of the side.
"Sadly
the success of the team was not universally enjoyed within the team. Some
individuals felt threatened by the new world order and appeared to work against
Rahul," Chappell has written in his book Rahul Dravid -Timeless Steel,
which was launched in Mumbai on Wednesday.
"Had
he been given the same wholehearted support in the role that he had given
others, I think the recent history of Indian cricket may have been very
different and he could have gone on to become the most successful Indian
captain ever," he added.
The
former Australian skipper recalled how Dravid led India to nine ODI wins in a
row by inserting the opposition after winning the toss, regardless of the
conditions, and then went on to pilot the team to a world record of 17
consecutive wins batting second.
"To
learn how to get better at chasing a target, Rahul kept asking the opposition
to bat first, no matter the conditions. Under his leadership, India won nine
ODIs in a row against Pakistan and England, and went on to complete a world
record of 17 consecutive wins batting second."
Stating
that the same approach had helped India win Test matches abroad as well,
Chappell wrote, "A similar approach to Test cricket brought about India's
first overseas victory in the West Indies for 35 years and a first-ever Test
victory in South Africa, which could have been turned into a series win if the
team had batted better in the second innings in the final Test in Cape
Town."
Chappell's
reference is to India's Test series victory (1-0 in the four-match series) in
the Caribbean in 2006 followed by its maiden win in Johannesburg's opening Test
of the 2006-07 series, before Dravid's team lost the next two games and the
rubber to the Proteas.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Cricket/CricketNews/Dravid-s-success-wasn-t-enjoyed-by-all-in-the-team-Greg-Chappell/Article1-883749.aspx (http://www.orkut.com/Interstitial?u=http://www.hindustantimes.com/Cricket/CricketNews/Dravid-s-success-wasn-t-enjoyed-by-all-in-the-team-Greg-Chappell/Article1-883749.aspx&t=AG7T0ewhnuVqGovz8eEo71e4jA0oeJ4BvBVF6BHPOhTLLepk cou6qJpV89btnA5JBcIcq4CgFTjFWubyjMexdr4Egu0z4qwcLw AAAAAAAAAA)

[VinodKumar's]

England's Pietersen dilemma
Dravid wants 'give-and-take' between IPL and Tests

Rahul Dravid (http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/player/28114.html), the former India batsman(Still I cannot believe this :(), has said that creating a window for the Indian Premier League would not only let the world's best players participate in the lucrative domestic Twenty20 tournament but, importantly, also allow them to play Test cricket, thereby enlivening the longer format.

"The reality is the IPL is an important tournament and people do want to play it," Dravid said on BBC's Test Match Special at Lord's during the third Test between England and South Africa. "And we are probably coming to a stage where maybe a time will come [when] there will need to be give-and-take - whether it is finding a window, or, whether making the tournament a little shorter."

Dravid was asked by the TMS host Jonathan Agnew whether the IPL, a tournament that lasts for close to two months, had played a big role in Kevin Pietersen (http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/player/19296.html) falling out with the ECB and losing support from his teammates, which led to him missing the Lord's Test. Dravid, who is in London to attend the MCC cricket committee meetings, was not sure if the IPL was the reason for the Pietersen debacle. He said a solution was necessary considering the IPL would continue to clash with the start of the England cricketing summer and Test cricket could not afford losing big names such as Pietersen and Chris Gayle.


Pietersen had stirred a controversy in April when he said England were jealous (http://www.espncricinfo.com/indian-premier-league-2012/content/story/560949.html) of the IPL. A month later, he retired (http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/story/566801.html) from limited-overs cricket, saying he wanted to focus only on Tests. That decision came on the heels of exhaustive discussions with the ECB, where Pietersen said he wanted to play only Test and Twenty20 cricket. But the ECB central contracts state that any player who makes himself unavailable for either format of limited-overs cricket is automatically ruled out of selection for both ODIs and T20s.
"There are some positives with the IPL and you have to understand that if the top players in the world want to play it and people want to watch then there is got to be some thing good about it is as well," Dravid said. "It does effect the England season particularly, and, especially since traditionally the English season has been the same for many, many years. So it is challenging that a little bit.
"In time we are getting to that stage where all of us want the best players playing [Test cricket]. We all want Chris Gayle playing for West Indies whenever West Indies play a Test match. None of us want to see a situation today where a great player like Kevin misses out today for whatever reasons and I don't want to get into that. But it is disappointing. The game is a loser when the top players don't play Test cricket."
Dravid, who led Rajasthan Royals in the previous IPL, felt that for Test cricket to continue attracting fans and remain marketable, it was important that the best players were always available for selection. Leaving out the likes of Gayle and Pietersen, Dravid felt, would only drive the fans away.
"I am not sure what the solution to it is exactly but I would love to be in a situation where the best players can play the IPL as well as represent their country in Test cricket. People like Chris Gayle and Kevin Pietersen are fantastic for Test cricket as they are for IPL and T20 cricket. And they have a short window in which to show us their talent. At the end of the day this is the game for the fans. The best players should represent their country - it is not only about the people who come to the ground. It is also for the young boys and girls who passionately follow their country in Test cricket. It is hard and disappointing when the best players don't turn up to play for their country."

http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/story/577715.html?CMP=chrome

[VinodKumar's]

Hashim Amla: Dravid's true successor

I first spoke to Hashim Amla nearly eight years ago, a few days before his Test debut at Eden Gardens. At the time, no one was sure that he would play - South Africa had more than held their own in the drawn game in Kanpur - and there was a raised eyebrow from Gerald de Kock, the media manager, when I asked for some time. "Hashim?" he asked. "Not the usual suspects?"

To be honest, the idea wasn't mine. Greg Struthers, who cleaned up my copy most weeks for The Sunday Times, reckoned it would make a fascinating story. "If he does play, he'll be the first Asian to represent South Africa," he wrote to me. Then, there was that beard, quite unlike anything cricket had seen since the days of Dr. WG Grace.

The young man I met, though, was hardly in the good doctor's league when it came to self-regard. He was soft-spoken, articulate and incredibly earnest. The face may have been different, but there were times when I could have closed my eyes and imagined Rahul Dravid saying the same things. On a whim, before I'd even watched him bat properly, I decided that Amla was the real deal, that he merited a lengthy feature rather than a snippet.

He made just 26 in that Test, and added a mere 36 in two games against Michael Vaughan's rampant side in South Africa before the selectors decided that some time away would best help his cause. At that stage, he looked skittish and uncertain, a very good first-class player who had suddenly discovered just how much harder Test cricket could be.

There were flaws in the technique, especially against Steve Harmison's pace and bounce, and the headline for our feature - Asian Hope - looked increasingly speculative as he faded from view. The conviction with which he had answered questions, however, meant that I still believed. There are many who parrot the right words. With a select few, you just know that they mean them.

The half an hour spent with him was also more than enough to convince one that despite the special treatment - the Castle Lager logo had been removed from his shirt out of respect for his religious beliefs - he was still one of the boys. The room was as messy as any other, with clothes and kit strewn everywhere, save for the prayer mat, carefully folded away in a corner.

The beard question was answered with a smile. "I started growing it after school," he said. "All the prophets have worn one." And unlike Tim Tebow, devout Christian quarterback picked on by sections of the media for overt displays of faith, Amla insisted back then that jibes on the field never extended to that aspect of his life. "When I've been sledged, it's been on the basis of my ability as a cricketer," he said. "Not once has anyone picked on the fact that I'm a Muslim."

That was before Dean Jones and his infamous off-air comment, but the grace with which Amla handled that episode won him as many admirers as his revamped batting style. He still plays with an elegance and poise that eludes most, but the second coming has been marked most by a ruthlessness and endurance that few have shown in the game's long history.

On the tour of India in 2010, he batted on and on and on, bringing to mind Lord Relator's Calypso about Sunil Gavaskar. With a little more support at Eden Gardens, his defiant second-innings epic would have realised a draw and a series win. As it was, he finished the two-match series with 490 runs for one dismissal.

The triple-century at The Oval had many similarities to Dravid's 233 at Adelaide in 2003. After the early exchanges, it never once seemed that Amla would get out. Powers of concentration that would be considered freakish in others seem almost commonplace where Amla is concerned. For him, the long innings - he batted 499 minutes while trying to save the Kolkata Test - is just one more barrier to surmount.

After 60 Tests, Dravid had scored 4733 runs at 51.44, with 10 centuries and 26 fifties. Amla, from the same number of matches, has 42 more runs at a marginally lower average (50.26). His conversion rate though is far better, with 15 hundreds and 23 half-centuries. More importantly, Amla has the same unflappable presence, one that drives bowlers to despair.

All those years ago, before he'd marked his guard for the first time, I asked him what he thought he could learn from India's line-up. His answer said much about the kind of player he'd gone on to be. "The line-up has huge quality," he said. "But I'd love to talk to Dravid when there's time." Not Tendulkar, not Laxman, not Sehwag. Dravid.

There have been occasions for chats since, and while India struggle to replace a man who might well be irreplaceable, South Africa need not worry about the No.3 slot for years to come.

http://sports.ndtv.com/cricket/blogs/dileep-premachandran/item/194172-hashim-amla-dravids-true-successor

Paiyanuku aayul varai support panna mudivu seithagi vittathu :noteeth:.

[Senareb]

http://sports.dinamalar.com/NewsDetail.aspx?Value1=2&Value2=14113&value3=I

டிராவிட், காம்பிருக்கு "பத்ம' விருது * பி.சி.சி.ஐ., பரிந்துரை

[VinodKumar's]

Award doesn't deserve him.

[VinodKumar's]

HAppy bday Rahul. Miss u badly. WAiting for IPL.

[VinodKumar's]

10th fifty in T20 :clap:

http://p.imgci.com/db/PICTURES/CMS/156400/156479.jpg

[VinodKumar's]

Well done RD .. keep going.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/db/PICTURES/CMS/157700/157761.jpg

[VinodKumar's]

Sunday, October 20, 2013Playing Against Rahul Dravid8:45 am: I get a call from my teammates saying, “Come fast, Rahul Dravid is here. He is playing”.


Since this game was close to where I coach, I had told the boys that I will finish a coaching stint and get to the match ground by 9 and be ready for the 9:30 start.
As I drove to the ground, I could feel my heart beat faster. After all, it is not every day that you get to play against someone with 13000 Test runs. It is not every day that you get to play against someone you have adored and idolised since the first time you saw him. It is not every day that you play against Rahul Dravid!


When I reached the ground, Rahul was already in his whites and was returning to the pavilion after having a talk with his team. I walked up and said “Good morning Rahul”. He replied, “Good morning Arjun, you are playing for them? That’s nice”. That relaxed me a little. Seeing him at my coaching camp every other weekend has sure helped me come to terms with his presence.


Now some snippets from the match:

The Ground


We played at the HAL ground which is mostly made up of rough mud and stones and has a matting wicket. The toilets are dirty. He still played. The only benefit he got was his car was allowed inside the gate, there is no parking inside for anyone else.


The Match


It was a KSCA 2nd Division League game between BUCC and FUCC, two of the oldest clubs in Bangalore. The top two teams in the league get promoted. BUCC are second right now but with a club close behind. That is why Rahul played, to ensure his team does well, to ensure they are promoted. It’s a 2 day game, points system more or less like the Ranji Trophy.


Shining the Ball


BUCC fielded first. Rahul was as usual at slip. By over No.10 a part of his pant was red. After every delivery, he shined the ball rigorously as if a Zaheer Khan was looking to exploit some reverse swing. It didn’t matter to him that it was just a local bowler bowling against some local batsmen. He gave his bowler every opportunity to swing the ball.

Fielding and Encouraging


Most senior players in these leagues, most former and current Ranji players do not necessarily field for the entire innings. They make the most of the services of the 12th man and often come out for a ‘break’. But not Rahul Dravid. He fielded for the entire 82 overs that we batted, he did not miss a single over. And he did not just field and feel like an immortal surrounded by mere mortals. He encouraged his bowlers, kept giving them tips. He asked his bowlers if they wanted water. He spoke to them in English, in Kannada and in Hindi.


He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not


I went into bat at around 200 for 5 with my team in a spot of bother as we had lost a couple of quick wickets after a good partnership. I edged the 3rd ball off a left arm spinner to slip. I was dropped by none other than the man himself. It was a tough chance, dipped on him, probably didn’t carry also but I was given a life. He dived front trying to reach it and falling on the mud in HAL is not as nice as diving in Lords. He felt the pinch a bit as he rubbed off the mud from his elbows. And then I batted on, had this interesting duel with their fast bowler. Copped a bouncer on the grill of my helmet. Then played one straight back to him which he threw back at me, quite dangerously. While he was going to throw, Rahul was shouting from the back “Easy easy, no”. The bowler later apologised to me. And then, the same left arm spinner got me edging again. This time Rahul Dravid took the catch, quite similar to the first one. I probably have never been happier getting out, after all it took a guy with 200 Test catches to catch me.

His Batting


We got the third wicket off the penultimate delivery of the day. At No. 5, to play one ball, walked out Rahul Dravid. We had a spinner bowling and with one delivery to go, thought he will just defend it away and so we had a couple of slips, a short leg and I came in really close at catching cover. It was pitched up, he stretched his leg out and drove it. It went like a bullet. We knew we were in for a long fielding day on Sunday and he did not disappoint. He scored a 100. When his partner who also scored a 100 was cramping a little, Dravid got down and stretched him. He had a go at the umpires a couple of times as they were missing out on no-balls. Yes, Rahul Dravid had a go at the umpire in a club game because they missed out on no-balls. And you thought club cricket might not be important to him. I told him inbetween overs that in our innings as well they missed a few and he was really angry and made a gesture with his hands suggesting that they are missing huge no balls.


When another boundary was scored and the ball went into the bushes again and our fielders were looking for it, he came up to me (I was at covers, he was non-striker) and said “What if there are snakes there?” We chatted for a minute and then he said “Want to take my bat and look for it?”

He ran his singles hard. Pushed our fielders by running the first one hard and converting any kind of a fumble into two. They were chasing 298. He lost his partner who was retired hurt and the rest of the batsmen weren’t the best. We put pressure on him by trying to keep him off strike and build the dot balls. We would like to feel that he did feel a bit of pressure as he saw a couple of wickets fall but he went on.


Dropped off My Bowling


I came on to bowl my part time offies with Dravid on strike. That there, was already a mini-dream but what happened off the first ball was as close as I will ever get to dismiss a batsman with over 23000 International runs. He punched a short ball straight to cover. It went low but the fielder caught it and in the process of rolling over dropped it somewhere. No one saw the ball going down as he was over it. Not me, not the umpire not Rahul himself. But the fielder said he put it down and well with Dravid wearing the MCC Spirit of Cricket cap and T-shirt, it was kind of fitting. He took a single off the next ball and I said to him, “Now that would have been a real dream come true.” He laughed. In my next over, he mis-hit one and it went just over deep midwicket’s head for six. Another, fell just short off short midwicket. I surely had this guy in some spot of bother. As he took another single and I smiled at him, he said “that is some old fashioned loopy off spinners you are bowling”. I will take that as a compliment although he probably ‘struggled’ cause he hasn’t faced slow crap like that since his school days. Eventually, he launched my extra flighted full toss (had to try something to get him out) out of the ground and that was the last I bowled in the game.

Disappointed at Getting out


He had got a 100, he had got his team to within 10 runs from taking the lead and the all-important 3 points when he edged behind and was caught by the keeper. He walked out to a standing applause but he was unhappy and was cursing himself and hitting the bat on the ground (not Kohli level upset, he was gentlemanly even in anger). He was upset at not having finished off the chase which the tail eventually did.


After getting out, he sat with his sons and wife and was seen explaining something to the boys.


The Crowd


There is usually a dog and a cow maybe watching us play league cricket. But there was a constant traffic of people coming in for this match. There was no security. They did not let him change, did not let him eat and kept hounding him for pictures and autographs. I don’t think a single person went home unhappy. He posed for everyone and never got angry despite them not giving him a moment of privacy. The only time he showed a semblance of anger was when someone gave him a 50 rupee note to sign on. He supposedly said something on the lines of, “What is wrong with you? I don’t sign on money!”

Thank you


He gave a few of his teammates bats. He gave the guy who scored a century for us, a pair of gloves. He ate with the team, drank water and was like just another cricketer plying his trade on the club circuit.


At the end of the match, he walked out to shake hands and said to me “Well played, Thank you Arjun”.



Well, thank you Rahul Dravid for giving us the opportunity to play against you and a weekend that we will never forget. Thank you for giving us another lesson in humility. Thank you for being an inspiration. And thank you for showing us that some dreams do come true.

http://crickettalket.blogspot.in/2013/10/playing-against-rahul-dravid.html

[VinodKumar's]

What if these kind of players born as born as bowlers in India. I would like to see Dravid/Sachin/Laxman/Kumble develop some good bowlers using their experience.

Batting lam nammalungaluku thaanavea vanthuruthu ;).