Rahul Dravid ( Best Cricket Player )

   RAHUL DRAVID

         

 

Early life and introduction to cricket

Dravid was born in a Maharashtrian Deshastha Brahmin family in Indore, Madhya Pradesh And very good family. His family later moved to Bangalore, Karnataka, where he was raised.  Dravid's father worked for a company that makes jams and preserves, giving rise to the later nickname Jammy. His mother, Pushpa, was a professor of Architecture at the University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE), Bangalore. Dravid has a younger brother named Vijay. He did his schooling at St. Joseph's Boys High School, Bangalore and earned a degree in commerce from St. Joseph's College of Commerce, Bangalore.
Dravid started playing cricket at the age of 12, and represented Karnataka at the under-15, the under-17 and the under-19 levels. Former cricketer Keki Tarapore first noticed Dravid's talent while coaching at a summer camp in the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Dravid scored a century for his school team. He also played as wicket-keeper, but later stopped keeping wicket on the advice of former Test players Gundappa Vishwanath, Roger Binny, Brijesh Patel and Tarapore.
Dravid made his Ranji Trophy debut in February 1991, while he was still attending college. Playing alongside future Indian teammates Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath against Maharashtra in Pune, he scored 82 runs in the match, which ended in a draw. His first full season was in 1991–92, when he scored two centuries and finished up with 380 runs at an average of 63.3, getting selected for the South Zone cricket team in the Duleep Trophy.

International career

International Debut

Dravid in action best during a Test match

Dravid made his international debut on 3 April 1996 in an ODI against Sri Lanka in the Singer Cup held in Singapore immediately after the 1996 World Cup replacing Vinod Kambli. He wasn't particularly impressive with the bat scoring just three runs before being dismissed by Muttiah Muralitharan but took two catches in the match. He followed it up with another failure in the next ODI of the series scoring just 4 runs before getting run out against Pakistan.
In contrast to his ODI debut, his Test debut was rather successful one. Dravid was selected for the Indian Test squad touring England on the backdrop of consistent heavy scoring in domestic cricket for 5 years, but didn't get a chance in the First Test despite scoring a fifty each against the Gloucestershire and the Leicestershire county in the tour games. He finally made his debut in Test cricket at Lord's on 20 June 1996 against England in the Second Test of the series. Dravid got the chance to be in the playing XI only because of the ankle injury to senior batsman Sanjay Manjrekar. Coming in to bat at no. 7, he forged important partnerships with another debutante Sourav Ganguly and his Karnataka team mates Kumble and Srinath securing a vital lead for his team in testing conditions. Batting for more than 6 hours, he scored 95 runs, missing out on a landmark debut hundred by just 5 runs, before getting out to the bowling of Chris Lewis. He also took his first catch in Test cricket in this match to dismiss Nasser Hussain off the bowling of Srinath. Dravid managed to hold on to his position in the playing XI in the Third Test despite Manjrekar's return. A hundred against British Universities in the tour game further strengthened Dravid's cause. Eventually Ajay Jadeja was dropped to accommodate Manjrekar in the team. Dravid went on to score 84 runs in the first innings of the Nottingham Test.

Early years

Success in Test cricket

After a successful Test debut in England, Dravid played the one-off Test against Australia in Delhi- The first edition of Border-Gavaskar Trophy and his first test at home. Batting at no.6, he scored 40 runs in the First innings. Dravid batted at no. 3 position for the first time in the First Test of the three match home series against South Africa in Ahemadabad in November 1996. He was then promoted to the opening slot in the Second Test and later demoted in the batting order for the Third Test. He ended the series as the third highest run getter for India with 175 runs at an average of 29.16. India won this series 2-1. Later that year, India toured South Africa for the second leg of their back-to-back test series. Chasing a target of 395 runs in the First Test, Indian team bundled out meekly for 66 runs on the Durban pitch that provided excessive bounce and seam movement. Dravid top scored with 27 not out. Dravid was promoted to the no. 3 slot again in the second innings of the Second Test. Though he failed to make a mark scoring just 12 runs with India losing the match, the move finally paid rich dividends in the Third Test when Dravid scored his maiden test hundred in the first innings scoring 148 runs and scored another 81 runs in the second innings fetching a draw for India at the Wanderers. His performance in this Test earned him his first Man of the Match award in Test cricket. Dravid top scored for India in the series with 277 runs at an average of 55.40. This series cemented his position at no. 3 in the Indian batting line up.
Dravid carried his form from South Africa to the West Indies where India toured to play a five match Test series. India lost the series 0-1. Dravid top scored for India with 360 runs at an average of 72.00 which included a fifty in each of the five matches except the fourth one. 92 runs scored in the first innings of the Fifth match in Georgetown earned him a joint Man of the Match award along with Shivnarine Chanderpaul. With this series, Dravid concluded his first full test season having scored 852 runs in 12 matches at an average of 50.11 with six fifties and one hundred.
Dravid continued his good run in the next season scoring 604 runs at an average of 50.33. He scored seven fifties in eight Tests which included 6 fifties in consecutive innings(3 each against Sri Lanka and Australia). The season started with a back-to-back home and away series against Sri Lanka. While he had a poor outing in Sri Lanka, he made up for it in the home series where he scored 304 runs at an average of 76.00. By the time he completed his second full season in Test cricket with another decent show in the three Test home series against Australia, he had scored 15 fifties in 22 Tests which included four scores of nineties but just a solitary hundred.
The century drought came to an end in the ensuing season when he further raised the bar of his performance scoring 752 runs in 7 Tests at an average of 62.66 that included four hundreds and one fifty. The first of those four hundreds came on the Zimbabwe tour. Dravid top scored in both the innings against Zimbabwe scoring 118 and 44 runs respectively. Despite his performance, India lost the one-off Test. This was to be India's only loss for the next 13 years in any Test match when Dravid scored a hundred.
Next up was a tour to New Zealand. The series that started with the first duck of his Test career in the first innings of the Second Test (First Test having been abandoned without a ball bowled) ended with twin hundreds in each innings of the Third Test in Hamilton. He scored 190 and 103 not out in the first and the second innings respectively, becoming only the third Indian batsman, after Vijay Hazare and Sunil Gavaskar, to score a century in both innings of a Test match. During his innings of 190, he put up a record 144 run partnership against New Zealand for 8th wicket with Javagal Srinath. The match ended in a draw.
Later that month, India played a two Test home series against Pakistan. Dravid didn't do much with the bat in the series. India lost the First Test but won the Second Test in Delhi riding on Kumble's historic 10-wicket haul. Dravid played his part in the 10-wicket haul by taking a catch to dismiss Mushtaq Ahmed who was Kumble's eighth victim of the inning.
Pakistan played another Test in India a couple of weeks later- First Test of the first ever Asian Test Championship. Dravid couldn't do much with the bat, and India went on to lose the riot-affected Test at the Eden Gardens. India went to Sri Lanka to play the Second Test of the champioship. Dravid scored a hundred at Colombo in the first innings and featured in a record breaking 232 run stand with Sadagoppan Ramesh for the second wicket against Sri Lanka. Dravid also effected a run out of Russel Arnold during Sri Lankan inning fielding at short leg. On the fourth morning, Dravid got injured while fielding at the same position when the ball from Jayawardene's pull shot hit him below his left eye through the helmet grill. He didn't come out to bat in the second innings due to the injury. India could only manage a draw and failed to qualify for the Finals of the championship.

Struggle in ODIs

In a stark contrast to his test career, Dravid had to struggle a lot to make a mark in the ODIs. Despite his twin failures in the 1996 Singer Cup, Dravid accompanied Indian team to Sharjah for the Pepsi Cup immediately after it. Dravid failed once again managing just 14 runs in the first two matches of the triangular series and was promptly dropped from rest of the games of the series. On the 1996 India tour of England, he wasn't picked up for the first two games of the Texaco Trophy, but got a chance in the third ODI where he scored some quick runs towards the end of the innings, scoring 22 not out from 15 balls. India then went on to play a quadrangular series in Sri Lanka where Dravid could manage only 20 runs in two innings.
Dravid had the first taste of success in ODI cricket when India toured Canada to participate in the 1996 Sahara cup. Dravid scored 220 runs in five games against Pakistan at an average of 44.00. In the second ODI, Dravid and Azhar put on a record 3rd wicket partnership for India in ODIs adding 161 runs. He scored 46 runs in the low scoring third game which fetched him his first Man of the Match award in ODIs. Despite him emerging the top scorer of the tournament, India lost the series 2-3.
Following the Sahara cup, India played two triangular series- one involving Australia and South Africa in India and the other involving South Africa and Zimbabwe in South Africa. The two triangular series were played as a part of back-to-back home and away series between India and South Africa in 1996/97. India also played a Mohinder Amarnath Benefit Match against South Africa in Mumbai sandwiched between the two triangular series. Dravid played in all the games. He had a moderate outing in India ending up as the third highest run scorer for India, much like the Indian leg of test series. Much like the South African leg of test series, Dravid emerged as the top scorer for India in the South African leg of triangular series as well. Dravid top scored in the Finals with 84 runs and was adjudged Man of the Match, in spite of which India lost the Final to South Africa.
Dravid accompanied the Indian ODI squad to the tour of Zimbabwe but didn't get a game despite a good performance in the previous triangular series in South Africa, though he got to play all the games in the following ODI series on the West Indies tour, thanks largely to a good performance in the test series preceding it. Dravid had moderate success in the four match ODI series scoring 121 runs at an average of 40.33. He followed it up by his maiden ODI hundred in the Independence Cup against Pakistan in Chennai. India lost nonetheless. Dravid top scored for India in the quadrangular event with 189 runs at an average of 94.50, but India could not qualify for the Finals. Dravid had moderate success in the ensuing Asia cup and a three match bilateral series against Sri Lanka scoring a fifty each in both the series. Later, he struggled to score in the 1997 Sahara Cup in Toronto, where he had top scored the previous year. He scored just 65 runs in four innings and had little contribution in India's 4-1 series win. He was eventually dropped from the playing XI for the final two games of Wills Challenge Series despite top scoring in the first game with an 81-ball fifty. He accompanied the team to the 1997/98 Champions Trophy but did not get a chance to play the first two games. He was then picked up for the third game only to be dropped again from the Indian ODI squad for the rest of the ODI season.
Dravid was recalled to the ODI squad in May 1998 for the Coca Cola triangular series, but had a poor comeback scoring just 88 runs in 4 games including a 22-ball 5 runs and a 21-ball one run innings, both coming against Bangladesh. He was duly dropped from the playing XI for the Finals of the series and later dropped from the ODI squad for the Singer Nidahas triangular series in Sri Lanka.
Dravid returned to the ODI fold for the 1998 segment of Sahara Cup in Toronto but struggled with the bat scoring just 32 runs in 4 games, thereby getting himself dropped from the playing XI once again for the last game of the series. He managed to keep his place intact in the ODI squad and had a decent show against Zimbabwe in a bilateral ODI series. He represented India in Wills International Cup but without much success. Dravid accompanied Indian ODI squad to Sharjah for the 1998/99 Coca Cola Champions trophy, but didn't play the first 3 games of the round-robin league. He got a chance in the last inconsequential tie against Zimbabwe and failed once again scoring just 3 runs, there by getting dropped from the Final of the series. By the end of 1998, Dravid had scored 1709 runs in 65 ODIs at an average of 31.64 with a poor strike rate of 63.48.
By now, Dravid had been branded as a Test specialist by experts and sports journalists alike. While he continued to score runs in Test cricket, his poor strike rate in ODIs came under scanner. He drew criticism for not being able to adjust his style of play to the needs of ODI cricket, his inability to rotate strike and play big strokes, thereby putting pressure on fellow batsmen. That changed in the year 1999. Dravid worked hard to change his game by increasing his range of strokes and adjusting his batting style to suit the requirement of ODI cricket.
Dravid began his ODI campaign in the new year with a run-a-ball hundred against New Zealand in Taupo, fresh from his twin hundreds in the Hamilton test just a week back. He scored another 186 runs in the rest of the four games, ending up as top scorer of the series with 309 runs from 5 games at an average of 77.25. His effort in the fourth ODI at Eden Park- 51 runs off 71 balls, earned him his fourth Man of the Match award in ODIs but the first one in a winning cause, his previous three having ended up in India's defeats.
Dravid scored another hundred against Sri Lanka in 1998/99 Pepsi Cup at Nagpur, the same opponents against whom he had scored a hundred a month back in Asian Test Championship. He didn't score much in rest of the matches of the Pepsi cup. Dravid warmed up for his debut World Cup with two fifties in the 1998/99 Coca Cola Cup in Sharjah, one each against England and Pakistan. Standing-in as a temporary wicket-keeper in the third match of the series, in place of injured Nayan Mongia (India's designated keeper), Dravid effected a stumping off the bowling of Sunil Joshi - Graeme Hick being Dravid's first victim as a wicket-keeper. Dravid also took a catch in this match. He ended up as the top scorer for India with 188 runs in five games, though his last inning before the World Cup was a golden duck against Pakistan, dismissed by Wasim Akram, in the Finals of the series.

Debut World Cup success

Main article: 1999 Cricket World Cup

Dravid made his World Cup debut against South Africa at Hove striking a half century, but scored just 13 in the next game against Zimbabwe. India lost both the games. India needed to win the remaining three games to have any chance of qualifying for the Super Six stage. Dravid hit his maiden World Cup hundred against Kenya at Bristol, putting up a record unbeaten partnership of 237 runs with Sachin Tendulkar. India won the match by 94 runs. Mongia got injured during keeping forcing Dravid to take up his duties during the match. As Mongia could not recover by the next match, Dravid played his first ODI as a designated keeper against Sri Lanka at Taunton. Coming in at no. 3, Dravid scored 145 runs from 129 balls with 17 fours and a six, becoming only the second batsman to hit back-to-back hundreds in World Cup history. He featured in a record 318 runs partnership with Sourav Ganguly- the first ever three hundred run partnership in ODI history. India won the match by 157 runs. Dravid struck another fifty against England in their last group match. India won the match to end up as the group runner-up and advanced into the Super Six stage. Dravid scored 2, 61 & 29 in the three Super Six matches against Australia, Pakistan & New Zealand respectively. India won against Pakistan but lost the other two games to end up at the bottom of the points table. Dravid emerged as the top scorer of the tournament with 461 runs from 8 games at an average of 65.85 and a strike rate of 85.52. Though India failed to qualify for the semi-finals, Dravid's success at the World Cup established him as the quintessential no. 3 batsman of Indian team in both formats of the game.
Dravid's post-World Cup campaign started on a poor note with just 40 runs coming in 4 games of Aiwa Cup in August 1999. He finally came into his own in the ensuing Coca Cola Singapore Challenge, where he top scored for India, including a hundred in the Finals. He also top scored for India in the DMC Cup including a fifty in the third game. While India lost Singapore Challenge Finals to West Indies, they took their revenge by beating them in the DMC Cup 2-1. By now, Dravid had started to keep wickets on an infrequent basis with India fielding him as a wicket-keeper in 4 out of last 10 ODIs. Dravid failed to make a mark in the LG Cup where he scored 81 runs in 4 games.
Dravid started off his post-World Cup Test cricket season on a positive note with a hundred against New Zealand in the First of a 3-match home series at Mohali in October 1999. Before this inning, Dravid had five test hundreds to his name from 29 tests, all of which came in away tests, this being his first test hundred on Indian soil. Except for this inning, he struggled throughout the rest of the season with just 281 runs in the next 7 tests at a poor average of 20.07 that included a 0-3 whitewash for India in Australia and a 0-2 whitewash against South Africa in a home series. He managed to cross 40 run mark just once in this 7 test span.
Meanwhile, Dravid continued his good run in ODI cricket. He scored 260 runs at an average of 60.00 in the 3-2 series win against New Zealand in November 1999. In the second game at Hyderabad, he scored 153 runs- his career best inning, which included 15 fours and two sixes. He featured in a 331 run partnership with Tendulkar- highest partnership in ODI cricket history. In 1999, Dravid scored 1761 runs in 43 ODIs at an average of 46.34 and a strike rate of 75.16 including 6 hundreds and 8 fifties. This was to be the best year of Dravid's ODI career.
Dravid followed up his previous year's ODI success with moderate success in the 1999-00 Carlton & United Series and the bilateral series against South Africa and a below par performance in a tri-nation series in Sharjah. Dravid took two wickets in a single over against South Africa in the First ODI of the bilateral series at Kochi. Gary Kirsten became Dravid's first victim in ODI cricket. His bowling figures of 2/43 in 9 overs remained his career best ODI bowling figures. It was also the best bowling figure by any bowler for that particular match.
He was appointed the vice-captain during 2003 World Cup, in which India reached the finals, playing as a wicket-keeper batsman to accommodate an additional batsman, a strategy that worked out well. Dravid was appointed the captain for the Indian team for 2007 World Cup, where India had an unsuccessful campaign.
He then scored 200 not out – his first double century – against Zimbabwe in Delhi, and followed with a second innings of 70 not out to help India win the match. It was the first time in 12 months that he had passed 50 runs. He scored 162 runs in the next Test, getting him 432 runs in the series, with an average of 432 runs.

After 2000

Dravid fielding during a Test match against Sri Lanka in Galle in 2008.

In the second Test of a three-match series against Australia at Eden Gardens in 2001, Dravid had a partnership with VVS Laxman which led to a comeback victory for India. India was following on, and they achieved a 376-run fifth wicket partnership in the second innings, Dravid scoring 180 and Laxman 281. Later that year he scored 87 in the second innings against South Africa in Port Elizabeth, contributing to a draw.
Dravid started to establish himself as one of the India's premier Test batsmen in 2002. In April 2002, in first Test match of the series against the West Indies Georgetown, he scored 144 not out in the first innings after being hit by one of Mervyn Dillon's deliveries. Later that year, he made four consecutive centuries, three against England and one against the West Indies. In August 2002, at Headingley Stadium, Leeds, in the third Test against England, he scored 148 in the first innings, leading to an Indian win and making him man of the match. His 602-run total in the four-Test series against England also got him the man of the series award.
In 2003–2004 season, Dravid scored three double centuries: one each against New Zealand, Australia and Pakistan. In the first innings of the second Test against Australia at Adelaide, India reached 85–4 in reply to Australia's 556, when Dravid and Laxsman made 303 for the fifth wicket. Laxman was dismissed for 148 and Dravid went on make 233, at that time the highest score by an Indian batsman outside India. He made 72 not out in the second innings, and India won. Dravid scored 619 runs in the four-match series against Australia with an average of 103.16, winning the man of the series award. During the later part of the season, in Ganguly's absence, Dravid led India to its first test victory over Pakistan at their home in the first test match at Multan Cricket Stadium. At Rawalpindi, in the third and final match of the series, Dravid made 270 runs, helping India to win the series. During India's unsuccessful tour of England in 2011, in which their 4–0 loss cost them the top rank in Test cricket, Dravid made three centuries.

2011 Tour of England

Having regained his form on the tour to West Indies, where he scored a match-winning hundred in Sabina park, Jamaica, Dravid then toured England in what was billed as the series which would decide the World No. 1 ranking in tests. It would later be hailed as one of his greatest series performances by experts. In the first test at Lord's, in reply to England's 474,Dravid scored an unbeaten 103, his first hundred at the ground where he debuted in 1996. He received scant support from his teammates as India were bowled out for 286 and lost the test. The 2nd test at Trentbridge,Nottingham again saw Dravid in brilliant form. Sent out to open the batting in place of an injured Gautam Gambhir, he scored his second successive hundred. His 117 though, again came in a losing cause, as a collapse of 6 wickets for 21 runs in the first innings led to a massive defeat by 319 runs. Dravid failed in both innings in the third test at Birmingham, as India lost by an innings and 242 runs, one of the heaviest defeats in their history. However, he came back brilliantly in the fourth and final match at The Oval. Again opening the batting in place of Gambhir, he scored an unbeaten 146 out of India's total of 300, carrying his bat through the innings. Once again, though, his efforts were in vain as India lost the match, completing a 0–4 whitewash. In all, he scored 461 runs in the four matches at an average of 76.83 with three hundreds. He accounted for over 26% of India's runs in the series and was named India's man of the series by England coach Andy Flower. His performance in the series was met with widespread admiration and was hailed by some as one of his finest ever series

Retirement

Rahul Dravid was dropped from the ODI team in 2009, but was selected again for an ODI series in England in 2011, surprising even Dravid himself since, although he had not officially retired from ODI cricket, he had not expected to be recalled. After being selected, he announced that he would retire from ODI cricket after the series. He played his last ODI innings against England at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, on 16 September 2011, scoring 69 runs from 79 balls before being bowled by Graeme Swann. His last limited-overs international match was his debut T20I match; he announced his retirement before playing his first T20I match.
Dravid announced his retirement from Test and domestic cricket on 9 March 2012, after the 2011–12 tour of Australia, but he said he would captain the Rajasthan Royals in the 2012 Indian Premier League. He was the second-highest run scorer and had taken the highest number of catches in Test cricket at the time of his retirement.

Personal life

On 4 May 2003 he married Vijeta Pendharkar, a surgeon from Nagpur. They have two children: Samit, born in 2005, and Anvay, born in 2009.

Playing style

Dravid is known for his technique, and had been one of the best batsmen for the Indian cricket team. In the beginning, he was known as a defensive batsman who should be confined to Test cricket, and was dropped from the ODI squad due to a low strike rate. However in a period of his career, he began consistently scoring runs in ODIs as well, earning him the award of ICC Player of the year award. His nickname of 'The Wall' in Reebok advertisements is now used as his nickname. Dravid has scored 36 centuries in Test cricket at an average of 53.19; this included five double centuries. In one-dayers, he has an average of 39.49, and a strike rate of 71.22. He is one of the few Indians whose Test average is better at away than at home, averaging almost five runs more in foreign pitches. As of 23 September 2010, Dravid's Test average in abroad is 55.53, and his Test average at home is 50.76; his ODI average in foreign is 37.93 and his ODI average at home is 43.11. Taking those matches in consideration that were won by India, Dravid averages 66.34 runs in Testsand 50.69 runs in ODIs.
Dravid's sole Test wicket was of Ridley Jacobs in the fourth Test match against the West Indies during the 2001–2002 series. While he has no pretensions to being a bowler, Dravid often kept wicket for India in ODIs. Dravid is now a specialist batsman, averaging 63.51 in matches played since 1 January 2000.
Dravid was involved in two of the largest partnerships in ODIs: a 318-run partnership with Sourav Ganguly, the first pair to combine for a 300-run partnership, and then a 331-run partnership with Sachin Tendulkar, which is a world record. He also holds the record for the greatest number of innings played since debut before being dismissed for a duck. His highest scores in ODIs and Tests are 153 and 270 respectively. Each of his five double centuries in Tests was a higher score than his previous double century (200*, 217, 222, 233, 270).
Also, Dravid is the current world record holder for the highest percentage of runs scored in matches won under a single captain, where the captain has won more than 20 Tests.^] In the 21 Test matches India won under Ganguly's captaincy, Dravid scored at a record average of 102.84 runs; scoring 2571 runs, with nine hundreds, three of them being double-centuries, and ten fifties in 32 innings. He contributed nearly 23% of the total runs scored by India in those 21 matches, which is almost one run out of every four runs the team scored.

An innings-by-innings breakdown of Dravid's Test match batting career, showing runs scored (red bars with purple bars for not out) and the average of the last ten innings (blue line).

He was named one of the Wisden cricketers of the year in 2000. Though primarily a defensive batsman, Dravid scored 50 runs not out in 22 balls (a strike rate of 227.27) against New Zealand in Hyderabad on 15 November 2003, the second fastest 50 among Indian batsmen. Only Ajit Agarkar's 67 runs of 21 balls is faster than that of Dravid.
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 award by the International Cricket Council (ICC). On 18 March 2006, Dravid played his 100th Test against England in Mumbai.
In 2006, it was announced that he would remain captain of the Indian team up to the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies.
However after the series against England, he stepped down as the Indian captain due to personal reasons. MS Dhoni took over as ODI captain, whereas Anil Kumble replaced him in test matches.
In 2007, he was dropped from the Indian ODI Squad following poor series against Australia. Dravid went back to play for Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy, scoring 218 runs against Mumbai.
In 2008, he made 93 runs in the first innings of the Perth test, the highest score of the match, to help India win and make the series 1–2. However, he was ignored by selectors for the subsequent one-day tri-series.
After a barren run in Test matches in 2008, Dravid came under increasing media pressure to retire or be dropped. In the Second Test against England in Mohali, he scored 136 runs, putting on a triple-century stand with Gautam Gambhir.
After reaching 10,000 test runs milestone, he said,"It's a proud moment for sure. For me, growing up, I dreamt of playing for India. When I look back, I probably exceeded my expectations with what I have done over the last 10 to 12 years. I never had an ambition to do it because I never believed – it is just a reflection of my longevity in the game."
Dravid is also one of the two batsmen to score 10,000 runs at a single batting position and is the third highest run scorer in Test Cricket, next to Tendulkar and Ponting.

Controversies

Ball-tampering incident

In January 2004, Dravid was found guilty of ball tampering during an ODI with Zimbabwe. Match referee Clive Lloyd adjudged the application of an energy sweet to the ball as a deliberate offence, although Dravid himself denied this was his intent. Lloyd emphasised that television footage caught Dravid putting a lozenge on the ball during the Zimbabwean innings on Tuesday night at the Gabba. According to the ICC's Code of Conduct, players are not allowed to apply substances to the ball other than sweat and saliva. Dravid was fined half of his match fee.
Indian coach John Wright came out in defence of Dravid, stating that "It was an innocent mistake". Wright argued that Dravid had been trying to apply saliva to the ball when parts of a losenge he had been chewing stuck to the ball; Dravid then tried to wipe it off. ICC regulations prevented Dravid from commenting about the issue, but former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly also stated that Dravid's act was "just an accident".

Multan declaration

One of Dravid's most debated decisions was taken in March 2004, when he was standing in as the captain for injured Sourav Ganguly. India's first innings was declared at a point when Sachin Tendulkar was at 194 runs with 16 overs remaining on Day 2. Rahul Dravid has had a mixed record when leading India in Tests. India lost the Karachi Test in 2006, giving Pakistan the series 1–0. However the loss could be put down to several Indian batsmen playing badly. In March 2006, India lost the Mumbai Test, giving England its first Test victory in India since 1985, enabling it to draw the series 1–1. The defeat in Mumbai was arguably the result of Dravid's decision to bowl first on a flat dry pitch, which later deteriorated and ended with an Indian collapse in the run chase. Coincidentally, it was Dravid's 100th test match in which the Indians were all out for 100 runs in the second innings. He was criticised by Vijay Mallya for not picking the team with right balance after his then IPL team Royal Challengers Bangalore finished seventh out of the eight teams that participated in the 2008 season. After India failed to qualify for the final of the DLF Cup, Dravid, the skipper, was criticised by former all-rounder Ravi Shastri who said that he was not assertive enough and let Greg Chappell make too many decisions. When asked for a response, Dravid said that Shastri, while a 'fair critic', was 'not privy' to the internal decision-making process of the team.

Other Records and Trivia

Rahul Dravid saw 453 wickets fall while batting at the other side of the crease in a Test Career- the most by a batsman in a Test Career.

Biographies

Two biographies have been written on Rahul Dravid and his career:

• Rahul Dravid – A Biography written by Vedam Jaishankar (ISBN 978-81-7476-481-2). Publisher: UBSPD Publications. Date: January 2004
• The Nice Guy Who Finished First written by Devendra Prabhudesai. Publisher: Rupa Publications. Date: November 2005

A collection of articles, testimonials and interviews related to Dravid was released by ESPNcricinfo following his retirement. The book was titled Rahul Dravid: Timeless Steel.

Social commitments

• Children's Movement for Civic Awareness (CMCA)
• UNICEF Supporter and AIDS Awareness Campaign