no one can bat him

1. „THE WALL‟
„THE UNSUNG LEGEND’

2. MR. DEPENDABLE

On 11th January 1973, in Indore a
Kannada couple Sharad and
Pushpa Dravid were gifted with a
son, they named him Rahul.
 Rahul‟s interest in cricket
began to blossom when he
was 10 years old. Like most
boys his age, he began to
knock about with a rubber
ball in the streets.
 But with his considerable
talent, it did not take him long
to become an indispensable
cricketer for his school side.

3. THE BEGINNING

 Rahul‟s interest in cricket
began to blossom when he
was 10 years old. Like most
boys his age, he began to
knock about with a rubber
ball in the streets.
 But with his considerable
talent, it did not take him
long to become an
indispensable cricketer for
his school side.

4. RANJI DEBUT

 The Dravid success story then
began to unfold at great speed.
He played at the Under-17 and
Under-19 circuit, then made his
debut in Ranji Trophy in 1991,
while a second-year student at
the St. Joseph’s College of
Commerce in Bangalore.
 It was a game against
Maharashtra, and Dravid, batting
at No. 7 stroked a masterful 82.
 In the very next match, against
Bengal he got his maiden first
class hundred, a rock-solid 132,
this time batting at No.6. The
script of his success story was
turning out to be neat.

5. SUCCESS AT THE
DOMESTIC LEVEL

 Those watching Dravid play
at the domestic level
realized here was
Mr. Potential walking
around in cricket flannels.
 His yen for being a
perfectionist technically, his
sound temperament, his
ability to accumulate runs
with patience, all augured
well for the future of Indian
cricket

6. NATIONAL SIDE

 In 1996, Dravid got his hard earned test cap against
England at The Lord‟s alongside Sourav Ganguly.
 It was a match both men will remember for
different reasons. Dravid because he missed a
century by five runs, Ganguly because he managed
to get a ton.
 Since the stage was huge and the occasion so
special, both Dravid and Ganguly were
catapulted, almost instantly, to international
stardom.
 Ever since they arrived together on the
scene, comparisons have not ceased.
 Today both of them are counted amongst the most
important contributors to Indian Cricket, while one
has already bid goodbye to cricketing arena the
other still continues to serve the team with the same
dignity.

7. ARJUNA AWARD

 In 1998 Dravid was
honoured with the
“Arjuna Award ” for
his excellence in the
game.
 It was yet another proud
moment for him as well
as for his parents who
had always stood by
him.

8. STRUGGLE AT THE ONE
DAY LEVEL

 While Sourav continued to impress the selectors with his
ability to score runs at a fast pace Rahul although a
permanent member in the test team struggled to maintain
his place in the one day side, somewhere his vast array of
strokes were not giving him maximum returns.
 His brilliant show in tests also didn‟t impress the selectors
to the extent that they could give him some more chances.
 Finally he got a chance to prove his metal in an ODI series
at home against Srilanka.
 He made full use of the opportunity and made 116 off just
118 deliveries in the very first ODI

9. 1999 WORLD CUP

 The 1999 World Cup, was although , not one of the most
memorable editions to the mega event as far as Indian
team‟s performance is concerned, but, it gave Rahul the
recognition of a top class ODI batsman for sure.
 Emerging as the highest run getter with 461 runs under his
belly he made 2 centuries and 3 fifties.
 All of them scored at a steady pace and under difficult
conditions.

10. MARRIAGE

 It was on 4th May 2003
that one of the most
eligible bachelors of
that time in India
decided to get married.
 It was an arranged
marriage with “Vijeta” a
Doctor by profession.

11. BEHIND THE WICKETS

 Each time the main wicketkeeper in the
side used to get injured Dravid‟s abilities
to keep the wickets worked to the team‟s
advantage.
 But in 2002 Ganguly(captain) and the
team management decided to keep him in
the playing 11 as the main wicketkeeper
so that the team could play with 7
batsmen.
 Dravid took up the responsibility and
performed well both behind and in front
of the wickets in that series.
 However, critics commented that Rahul
was forced to accept wicketkeeping to
assure him of his place in the One day
team because of competition coming from
young strokeplayers like Yuvraj and
Dinesh Mongia.

12. CRICKETER OF THE YEAR

 Rahul made the whole
country proud when he
bagged both “Cricketer of
the year” and “Test
cricketer of the year”
awards in 2004
 Adding another feather to
his cap

13. INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE

 In the IPL in 2008 Dravid was
the captain of the Vijay Mallya
owned Bangalore Royal
Challengers team which proved
to be an underdog in the
tournament although he himself
played well
 From 2011, Dravid starts
playing for Rajasthan Royals
 In 2013, Dravid bring his team
up to Semifinals

14. LAST CALL

 In 2012, Dravid
announced his Retirement
by saying that he wanted
to Give his remaining
time to his family