Rahul Dravid

Infobox cricketer biography
playername = Rahul Dravid

---

image_size = 290px
country = India
fullname = Rahul Sharad Dravid
living = yes
nickname = "The Wall", "Jammy"
dayofbirth = 11
monthofbirth = 1
yearofbirth = 1973
placeofbirth = Indore, Madhya Pradesh
countryofbirth = India
heightft =
heightinch =
heightm =
batting = Right-handed
bowling = Right arm off spin
role = Batsman, occasional Wicketkeeper
international = true
testdebutdate = 20 June
testdebutyear = 1996
testdebutagainst = England
testc

lasttestdate = 8 August
lasttestyear = 2008
lasttestagainst = Sri Lanka
odidebutdate = 3 April
odidebutyear = 1996
odidebutagainst = Sri Lanka
odic

lastodidate = 14 October
lastodiyear = 2007
lastodiagainst = Australia
odishirt = 19
club1 = Karnataka
year1 = 1990 – present
club2 = Scotland
year2 = 2003
club3 = Kent
year3 = 2000
club4 = Royal Challengers Bangalore
year4 = 2008-
deliveries = balls
columns = 4
column1 = Tests
matches1 = 125
runs1 = 10,246
bat avg1 = 53.92
100s/50s1 = 25/52
top score1 = 270
deliveries1 = 120
wickets1 = 1
bowl avg1 = 39.00
fivefor1 = 0
tenfor1 = 0
best bowling1 = 1/18
catches/stumpings1 = 176/0
column2 = ODI
matches2 = 333
runs2 = 10,585
bat avg2 = 39.49
100s/50s2 = 12/81
top score2 = 153
deliveries2 = 186
wickets2 = 4
bowl avg2 = 42.50
fivefor2 = 0
tenfor2 = n/a
best bowling2 = 2/43
catches/stumpings2 = 193/14
column3 = FC
matches3 = 245
runs3 = 19,522
bat avg3 = 56.25
100s/50s3 = 52/100
top score3 = 270
deliveries3 = 617
wickets3 = 5
bowl avg3 = 54.60
fivefor3 = 0
tenfor3 = 0
best bowling3 = 2/16
catches/stumpings3 = 297/1
column4 = LA
matches4 = 436
runs4 = 14,861
bat avg4 = 42.58
100s/50s4 = 21/109
top score4 = 153
deliveries4 = 477
wickets4 = 4
bowl avg4 = 105.25
fivefor4 = 0
tenfor4 = n/a
best bowling4 = 2/43
catches/stumpings4 = 227/17
date = 11 October
year = 2008
source = http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/2/2280/2280.html CricketArchive

Rahul Sharad Dravid (Kannada:ರಾಹುಲ್ ಶರದ್ ದ್ರಾವಿಡ,Marathi:राहुल शरद द्रविड ) audio|Rahul_Dravid.ogg|pronunciation (b. 11 January 1973) is an Indian cricketer, and a former captain of the Indian national cricket team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. Dravid is the third Indian batsman, after Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar, to have scored 10,000 runs in test cricket. [cite web | title=Cricinfo - Records - India - Test matches - Most runs | url=http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/india/engine/records/batting/most_runs_career.html?class=1;id=6;type=team | accessdate=2007-05-06] On 14 February 2007, he became the sixth player in history and the third Indian, after Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, to score 10,000 runs in ODI cricket. [cite web | title=Cricinfo - Dravid joins the 10,000 club | url=http://content-www.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/280373.html | accessdate=2007-05-06] In September 2007, he resigned as captain of India team. [ [http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/india/content/current/story/310880.html Resignation from India Cricket Captiancy] ] He is the captain as well as the Icon Player in the Royal Challengers Bangalore team in the Indian Premier League.

Personal life

Dravid was born in Indore, Madhya Pradesh [cite web | title=Cricinfo - Players and Officials - Rahul Dravid | url=http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/india/content/player/28114.html | accessdate=2007-05-06] into a Maharashtrian Deshastha family [cite web |title=Meet Rahul Dravid |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/SUNDAY_SPECIALS/Special_Report/Meet_Rahul_Sharad_Dravid/articleshow/1675924.cms |accessdate=2007-03-27] living in Karnataka. His paternal ancestors were Iyers from Thanjavurcite book | title=Rahul Dravid A Biography | last=Jaishankar| first=Vedam| year=2004| publisher=USB Publishers Distributers Ltd| id=ISBN 8174764828] .He grew up in Bangalore, Karnataka. cite web | title=Rahul Dravid | url=http://www.mapsofindia.com/who-is-who/sports/rahul-dravid.html | accessdate=2007-05-06] He speaks Marathi and Kannada. [ [http://www.hindu.com/mag/2004/09/12/stories/2004091200550300.htm The Hindu : Keeping the windows ] ] [ [http://www.verveonline.com/29/people/rahul/full.shtml People | The Great Wall of India ] ] He has a brother named Vijay who works in Cognizant Technology Solutions. Dravid's father worked for Kissan, a company known for jams and preserves and thus he earned the nickname "Jammy" from his teammates at St. Joseph's, Bangalore. Rahul Dravid has a degree in commerce from St Joseph's College of Commerce Bangalore, Karnataka.

On 4 May 2003, Rahul married Dr. Vijeta Pendharkar, a surgeon from Nagpur [cite web | title=Dravid weds Vijeta Pendharkar | url=http://www.rediff.com/cricket/2003/may/04drav.htm | accessdate=2007-05-06] and on 11 October 2005, their son, Samit, was born [cite web | title=Dravid blessed with a baby boy | url=http://in.rediff.com/cricket/2005/oct/11dravid.htm | accessdate=2007-05-06] .

Early years

Dravid started playing cricket at the age of 12, and represented the state at the under-15, under-17 and under-19 level. [cite web | title=webindia123-Indian personalities-sports-RAHUL DRAVID | url=http://www.webindia123.com/personal/sports/rahul.htm | accessdate=2007-05-06] Rahul's talents were first spotted by former cricketer Keki Tarapore who was coaching at a summer coaching camp at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. [cite web | title=Cricinfo - Coach Keki Tarapore reflects on pupil Rahul Dravid | url=http://content-www.cricinfo.com/england/content/story/103543.html | accessdate=2007-05-06] . He went on to score a century on debut for his school team . Along with the batting, he was keeping wickets. However, he later stopped keeping wickets on advice from former Test players Gundappa Vishwanath, Roger Binny, Brijesh Patel and Tarapore.

He was selected to make his Ranji Trophy debut in February 1991 against Maharashtra in Pune (while still attending college at St. Joseph's College of Commerce in Bangalore), alongside future Indian teammates Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath, scoring 82 in a drawn match after batting in the No. 7 position [cite web | title=Maharashtra v Karnataka at Pune, 02-05 Feb 1991 |url=http://www1.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1990-91/IND_LOCAL/RANJI/KNOCK-OUTS/MAHA_KNTKA_RJI-PQF2_02-05FEB1991.html | accessdate=2007-05-06] . His first full season was in 1991-92, when he scored two centuries to finish with 380 runs at an average of 63.3 [cite web | title=Batting - Most Runs (Ranji trophy 1991-92)|url=http://www1.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1991-92/IND_LOCAL/RANJI/STATS/IND_LOCAL_RJI_AVS_BAT_MOST_RUNS.html | accessdate=2007-05-06] , and was selected for South Zone in the Duleep Trophy [cite web | title=South Zone squad 1991-92 |url=http://www1.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1991-92/IND_LOCAL/DULEEP/SQUADS/DULEEP_1991-92_SOUTH-SQUAD.html | accessdate=2007-05-06] .

International career

Dravid had a disappointing start to his career making his debut in one-dayers against Sri Lankan cricket team in the Singer Cup in Singapore immediately after World Cup in March 1996, replacing Vinod Kambli. Subsequently, he was dropped from the team, until he was picked again for the tour of England.

He then made his debut in the Second Test against England along with Sourav Ganguly,when Sanjay Manjrekar got injured after the first Test match on that tour.

Rahul scored 95 [ [http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/india/engine/match/63714.html Cricinfo - 2nd Test: England v India at Lord's, Jun 20-24, 1996] ] and held his position on Manjrekar's return for the Third Test, scoring 84 [ [http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1996/IND_IN_ENG/IND_ENG_T3_04-09JUL1996.html 3rd TEST: England v India at Nottingham, 4-9 Jul 1996 ] ] . After moderate performance in home series against Australia and South Africa, Dravid broke through on the 1996-97 tour of South Africa. He batted at No. 3 in the third Test in Johannesburg, scoring his maiden century with 148 and 81, the top score in each innings to claim his first man of the match award [ [http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/match/63738.html Cricinfo - 3rd Test: South Africa v India at Johannesburg, Jan 16-20, 1997] ] . He made his first half-century against Pakistan in the Sahara Cup in 1996, scoring 90 in his 10th ODI [ [http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1996/OD_TOURNEYS/SAHARA/IND_PAK_SAHARA_ODI2_17SEP1996.html 2nd ODI: India v Pakistan at Toronto, 17 Sep 1996 ] ] .

In the 18 months ending in mid-1998, he played in an away series against the West Indies, home and away series against Sri Lanka and a home series against Australia, he scored consistently, with 964 runs at an average of 56.7. He scored eleven half-centuries but was unable to convert them to triple figures Fact|date=March 2008. He scored his second century in late 1998 against Zimbabwe in a one-off Test match, top-scoring in both innings with 148 and 44, but was unable to prevent an Indian defeat Fact|date=March 2008. He became the third Indian batsman after Vijay Hazare and Sunil Gavaskar to score centuries in both innings of a match during the 1999 New Year's Test match against New Zealand with 190 and 103* to force a draw [ [http://stats.cricinfo.com/indvrsa/content/records/282951.html centuries in both innings of a test match] ] [ [http://www1.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1998-99/IND_IN_NZ/SCORECARDS/IND_NZ_T3_02-06JAN1999.html 3rd Test: New Zealand v India at Hamilton, 2-6 Jan 1999 ] ] . He had a moderate season in the subcontinent in early 1999, scoring 269 runs at an average of 38.42 with one century before scoring 239 at an average of 39.8 including a century against New Zealand in late 1999Fact|date=March 2008. This was followed by a poor away series against Australia and another poor home series against South Africa, accumulating just 187 runs at an average of 18.7. He then scored 200*, his first double century, against Zimbabwe in Delhi, which along with 70* in the second innings helped India to victory. It was the first time he had passed 50 in 12 months and he followed this with a 162 in the following Test, giving him 432 runs in the two match series at an average of 432 Fact|date=March 2008.

In the second test of a three match test series against Australia at Kolkata in 2001, Dravid joined hands with VVS Laxman to produce one of the greatest comeback victories in the history of the game. Following on, the pair put on 376 runs for the fifth wicket in the second innings of the match. Dravid scored 180 while Laxman made 281. [ [http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/match/63920.html Cricinfo - 2nd Test: India v Australia at Kolkata, Mar 11-15, 2001] ] Though Dravid ended up second-best, it remains one of his greatest performances till date. Later that year in Port Elizabeth against South Africa, he made a crucial match-saving 87 runs in the second innings to deny South Africa the win. [ [http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/match/63952.html Cricinfo - 2nd Test: South Africa v India at Port Elizabeth, Nov 16-20, 2001] ]

2002 was the year, when Dravid started to emerge out of Tendulkar's shadow and established himself as India's premier Test batsman. In the month of April, at Georgetown, West Indies in first test match of the series, he scored an unbeaten 144 [ [http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/match/63984.html Cricinfo - 1st Test: West Indies v India at Georgetown, Apr 11-15, 2002] ] in the first innings after being hit by a Mervyn Dillon delivery. Later that year, he raked up four consecutive centuries against England(3) and West Indies(1). In August 2002, against England at Headingley Stadium, Leeds in the third test match of the series, he scored a 148 in the first innings on a seamer-friendly to set up a famous Indian win. [ [http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/match/63999.html Cricinfo - 3rd Test: England v India at Leeds, Aug 22-26, 2002] ] He won the man of the match award for this performance. Dravid's astonishing aggregate of 602 runs in the four match test series against England also fetched him the man of the series award.In 2003-2004 season, Dravid scored three double centuries, one each against New Zealand, Australia and Pakistan. Against Australia at Adelaide in second match of the four match series, the batting pair of Dravid and VVS Laxman proved to be Australia's nemesis again. In the first innings, India were looking down the barrel at 4 wickets down for 85 runs in reply to Australia's massive 556 when the duo joined hands. By the time their partnership was broken, the pair had put on 303 runs. Laxman was dismissed for 148 while Dravid went on make 233. At that time, this was the highest individual score by an Indian batsman overseas. By the time Dravid was done, India was only 33 short of Australia's first innings score. Dravid followed this with an unbeaten 72 under immense pressure in the second innings to set up a famous victory. [ [http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/match/64060.html Cricinfo - 2nd Test: Australia v India at Adelaide, Dec 12-16, 2003] ] Dravid scored 619 runs in that four-match series against Australia at an average of 103.16 and won the man of the series award. During the later part of the season, Dravid, in Ganguly's absence, led India to its first test victory over Pakistan in Pakistan in the first test match at Multan. In the third and the final match of the series At Rawalpindi, Dravid stroked a masterly 270 to take India to a historic test series win over Pakistan. [ [http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/match/64083.html Cricinfo - 3rd Test: Pakistan v India at Rawalpindi, Apr 13-16, 2004] ]

Dravid in World Cup

Dravid was top run scorer in the 7th World Cup(1999), scoring 461 runs. He was vice captain during 2003 World cup where India reached the final, serving his team in the dual capacity of batsman and wicket keeper to accommodate additional batsman, a move that paid huge dividends for India. Dravid was the captain during 2007 cricket world cup in West Indies, where Indian cricket team had a dismal campaign. Dravid had scores of 14 in Bangladesh match, 7* in Bermuda match and 60 in Sri Lanka match.

Style

With a strong technique, he has been the backbone for the Indian cricket team. Beginning with the reputation of being a defensive batsman who should be confined to Test cricket, he was dropped from ODIs as he was slow in making runs. 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. His nickname of 'The Wall' in Reebok advertisements has now become a tribute to his consistency. Dravid has scored 25 centuries in Test cricket at an average of 55.11, including 5 double centuries. In one-dayers though he has an average of 39.49, and a strike rate of 71.22. He is one of the few Indians who average more at away matches than at home, averaging over 10 more runs a match abroad than on Indian pitches. As of 9 August, 2006, Dravid's average in overseas Tests stood at 65.28 as against his overall Test average of 55.41, and his average for away ODI stands at 42.03 as against overall ODI average of 39.49. In matches that India has won, Dravid averages 78.72 in Tests and 53.40 in ODIs.

Dravid's sole Test wicket was that of Ridley Jacobs in the fourth Test 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. He has since delegated the wicket-keeping gloves, first to Parthiv Patel and more recently to Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Dravid is now purely a batsman, one who has averaged 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 the present world record. He also holds the record for the greatest number of innings since debut before being dismissed for a duck. His highest scores in ODIs and Tests are 153 and 270 respectively. Uniquely, 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(%) contribution of runs scored in matches won under a single captain, where the captain has won more than 20 Tests. [http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/columns/content/story/221152.html Cricinfo - The Man Fridays ] ] In the 21 Test matches India won under Sourav Ganguly's leadership, Dravid played his part in every single one of those wins, scoring at a record average of 102.84 and piling up an astonishing 2571 runs, with nine hundreds - three of them double-centuries - and ten fifties in 32 innings. He contributed nearly 23% of the total runs scored by India those 21 matches, which is almost one run out of every four runs the team scored.

He was named one of the Wisden cricketers of the year 2000.

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 by the International Cricket Council, ICC (associated image below). Dravid's batting average of 95.46 in the past year has made him the only Indian to be in the Test team of the year. On 18th March, 2006, Dravid played his 100th Test against England in Mumbai.

In 2005, a biography of Rahul Dravid written by Devendra Prabhudesai was published, 'The Nice Guy Who Finished First'.

In the 2005 ICC Awards he was the only Indian to be named to the World one-day XI.

In 2006, it was announced that he would remain captain of the Indian team up to the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies.

After the England Series however, he stepped down as captain of India due to personal reasons. Mahendra Singh Dhoni took over as ODI captain. 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 against Mumbai.

In 2008, he made 93 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 reaching 10,000 test runs milestone, he was quoted saying, "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." [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/7320087.stm Dravid reaches Test runs landmark] ]

Personal Records

Tests

* Dravid is the 3rd Indian (6th in World) to score more than 10,000 test Runs
* Has been involved in the most century partnerships in Test history - 72 (28th March 2008).
* Has the best away Test batting average among those who have scored over 10,000 Test runs.
* Scored nearly 23% of the total runs put up by India (with a batting average of 102.84) in the 21 Test matches won under Ganguly's captaincy. This is the highest percentage contribution by any batsman in Test cricket history in matches won under a single captain where the captain has won more than 20 Tests.
* 2nd longest streak of consecutive Tests since debut (93 + 1 in ICC XI) missed 95th test at Ahmedabad due to fever, behind Adam Gilchrist (96).
* Only player to score a century against every Test playing nation away from home. [ [http://www.cricketzone.com/news/columns/20060710-0.html Rahul Dravid – Firm on the path of greatness : Cricket COLUMNS : CricketZone.Com] ]
* Involved in highest partnership made away from home for any wicket for India with vice captain Virender Sehwag of 410 runs vs Pakistan at Lahore in 2006 (also, the highest partnership between a captain and the vice captain).
* He is the 4th fastest (in terms of innings) to reach 10000 runs in Test cricket after Brian Lara,Sachin Tendulkar and Ponting.
* Dravid is one among the only three batsmen to hit Test centuries in four consecutive innings. The other two are Jack Fingleton and Alan Melville. Dravid achieved this by hitting scores of 115, 148, 217 and 100* in three successive matches against England and one against the West Indies. Only Everton Weekes, with centuries in five consecutive innings, has achieved a longer sequence of consecutive Test hundreds. [ [http://stats.cricinfo.com/indvrsa/content/records/282968.html Cricinfo - centuries in consecutive test innings] ]
* With scores of 50 or more in 7 consecutive Tests Dravid is behind only to Tendulkar(8) among the Indian batsmen. IVA Richards holds the record for most with 11.
* He is currently 2nd among batsmen who have scored most away runs in Tests (5968 as of April 2008). Only Sachin Tendulker(6726) has scored more away Test runs.
*He has played 150 innings off 94 tests at number 3. He has scored 7677 runs at the position. Both of these two feats are world records.
* 2nd Indian batsman to score twin hundreds in a Test thrice, after Sunil Gavaskar. Gavaskar, Dravid and Ponting are the only batsmen to score twin hundreds in a Test thrice.
* One of only two Indians to score 5 double hundreds.(each bigger than the previous 200* vs Zimbabwe, 217 vs England, 222 vs New Zealand, 233 vs Australia, 270 vs Pakistan).
* He has taken the highest number of catches(176) by an Indian fielder (non-wicketkeeper) in test cricket and 2nd behind Mark Waugh(181) in the world.
* Has the best away batting average in tests among the current batsmen (with at least 5000 away runs). [ [http://stats.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/stats/index.html?class=1;filter=advanced;home_or_away=2;home_or_away=3;orderby=batting_average;qualmin2=5000;qualval2=runs;template=results;type=batting Cricinfo Statsguru - Test matches - Batting records ] ]
* Partnering with Tendulkar, has scored more runs than any other pair, excluding opening pairs. They are the 3rd best in terms of total number of partnership runs scored by a pair in test cricket. [ [http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/content/records/283514.html Cricinfo records page on max partership runs made by a pair] ]

One Dayers

Partnership Records
* The only batsman to have been involved in two ODI partnerships exceeding 300 runs.
* First batsman to be involved in a 300 run partnership in a Cricket World Cup along with Sourav Ganguly in the 1999 World Cup match against Sri Lanka at Taunton.
* Involved in all three highest 4th wicket partnerships against South Africa, two with Yuvraj Singh.
* Involved in the highest partnership in the history of ODI cricket with a 331 run partnership along with Sachin Tendulkar vs New Zealand at Hyderabad in 1999-2000.

World Cup Records
* He was the leading run scorer in the 1999 World Cup with 461 runs.
* Has the 2nd highest score(145) by a wicketkeeper in a World Cup behind AC Gilchrist(149).
* He was only the second wicketkeeper-batsman after Zimbabwean Dave Houghton to score an ODI hundred in the World Cup.
* He was the second batsman after Mark Waugh to score back-to-back hundreds in the World Cup

Captaincy Records
* He is tied with Sachin Tendulkar in fourth place for having captained India in the most victorious matches
* Has the highest ODI batting average as captain of 45.58 (as of 4/7/06), among all captains who have captained more than 10 ODIs.

Other Records
* Has the record of not being dismissed on duck for 120 consecutive ODI matches
* 3rd Highest number of fifties, after Sachin Tendulkar (89) and Inzamam Ul Haq (83)

Captaincy

Achievements

*Rahul Dravid is the only other Indian to be the top scorer(first one is Sachin Tendulkar - twice - 1996,2003) in a World Cup. He amassed 461 runs in the 1999 World Cup, the first World Cup he played.

* Rahul Dravid led India to a historic Test series win, against the West Indies in their home soil in 2006. Since 1971, India had never won a Test series in the West Indies. This is also their first prominent series win outside the Indian subcontinent (barring the win against Zimbabwe in 2005) since 1986.

* Under Dravid's captaincy the Indian team tied the previous record of most consecutive One-Day International wins for an Indian team thus equalling the record run that the Indian team had achieved under Sourav Ganguly in the 2003 World Cup in South Africa (8).

* During his captaincy the Indian team broke the 14 match West Indies record for most consecutive won matches in One-Day Internationals while chasing a total. For this 17 match run, Dravid was the captain for 15 matches and Sourav Ganguly was the captain for the other two. This streak was broken on 5/20/06, when India lost to the West Indies by one run, at Sabina Park, Jamaica.

*Rahul Dravid is the first captain to lead India to a Test match victory against South Africa on South African soil

* He became only the third captain from India to win a Test series in England. This feat was achieved after 21 years. The other two captains being Kapil Dev (1986) and Ajit Wadekar (1971).

* He has hit 10,000 runs in both tests and one day internationals, making him only the third batsmen after Tendulkar and Lara to achieve this feat. Ponting is the only other man to have done this.

Criticism

* One of Dravid's most debated decisions was taken in March 2004, when he was standing in as captain for an injured Sourav Ganguly. The Indian first innings was declared at a point when Sachin Tendulkar was at 194 with 16 overs remaining on Day 2. [ [http://www.hindu.com/2004/04/30/stories/2004043000932100.htm The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Multan declaration was a mistake: Ganguly ] ]
* 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. In March 2006, India lost the Mumbai Test, giving England its first Test victory in India since 1985, enabling Flintoff's men to draw the series 1-1. While the loss in Karachi could be put down to several Indian batsmen playing badly, 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.
* He was crticised by Vijay Mallya for not picking the team with right balance since Dravid's team Bangalore Royal Challengers was the second last team in the 2008 Indian Premier League. [ [http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/indveng/content/current/story/241706.html Cricinfo - Dravid regrets top-order failiure ] ]
* After India failed to qualify for the Finals of the DLF Cup, Indian skipper Rahul Dravid was criticised by former all-rounder Ravi Shastri who said that he was not assertive enough and let Greg Chappell make too many decisions [ [http://www.hindu.com/2006/09/25/stories/2006092509681900.htm The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Shastri criticises Dravid ] ] . 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 [ [http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=328034&ssid=88&sid=SPO Zee News - Pathan's destiny is in his own hands: Dravid ] ] .

Teams

International

*India (current)
*ACC Asian XI
*ICC World XI

Indian first-class

*Karnataka
*South Zone

Indian Premier League

* Royal Challengers Bangalore

English county

*Kent
*Scotland

Timeline

* 1973 - Born 11 January 1973, in Indore
* 1984 - Attended a summer coaching camp at KSCA's Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, where his talents were spotted by former cricketer turned coach Keki Tarapore (There was another Keki Tarapore [Mumbai, deceased] with whom people confuse this gentleman who also passed on.)
* Scores his first century in an unofficial match for his school team St. Joseph's against St. Anthony's.
* Scores a double hundred for the Karnataka schools team which he smashed against Kerala.
* Selected for the under-15 Karnataka team.
* Stops keeping wickets on advice from Gundappa Vishwanath, Roger Binny, Brijesh Patel and coach Keki Tarapore.
* 1985 - Gets recognised in Bangalore as a prodigy after becoming the first ever to score a century in the Cottonian Shield inter school tournament (Juniors) for St. Josephs High School against Baldwin Boys' High School, in the final.
* 1991 - Ranji debut against Maharashtra.
* 1996 - Double century in Ranji finals, vs. Tamil Nadu.
* 1996 - Test debut at Lords, England after Sanjay Manjrekar was injured and Navjot Singh Sidhu flew back home after a fracas with captain Azharuddin. Makes 95.
* 1997 - Maiden Test hundred (148), vs. South Africa, third Test, Johannesburg.
* 1997 - First one day hundred (107), vs. Pakistan, Independence Cup, Chennai.
* 1998 - Dropped from One Day squad for the ODI tournament in Bangladesh.
* 1999 - Hundred in both innings (190,103) against New Zealand in Hamilton.
* 1999 - Makes 461 runs, including three 50s and two 100s in World Cup.
* 1999 - Signs up with Kent for the 2000 English county season.
* 2001 - Scores 180, while V. V. S. Laxman makes 281, in a fifth-wicket stand of 376 as India defeat Australia at Eden Gardens, ending 16 Test-winning streak by Australia.
* 2004 - Career best 270 against Pakistan, at Rawalpindi.
* 2005 - Succeeds Sourav Ganguly as Test and ODI captain.
* 2005 - "The Nice Guy Who Finished First" by Devendra Prabhudesai, released by coach Greg Chappell.
* 2006 - Scores first century as captain, at Lahore, vs. Pakistan.
* 2006 - Contributed in a remarkable 410 runs partnership with Sehwag at Multan.
* 2006 - Leads India to snatch their first ever test victory on South African Soil.
* 2007 - Leads India in the 2007 Cricket World Cup, held in West Indies.
* 2007 - After India's tour of England, resigns from Indian captaincy.
* 2007 - Dropped from the Indian ODI Squad after poor series against Australia.
* 2008 - Reached the landmark of 10000 Test runs, in the first Test of the series against South Africa in Chennai on 29 March

Career highlights

Tests

Test Debut: vs England, Lord's, 1996
*Dravid's best Test batting score of 270 was made against Pakistan, Rawalpindi, 2003-2004
*His best Test bowling figures of 1 for 18 came against West Indies, St. John's, 2001-2002
*He is only the third Indian to score over 10,000 Test runs, following Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar.
*He is the fastest batsman in the history of Test cricket to make 9,000 runs. The former Indian captain brought up the landmark in his 176th innings playing against West Indies in 2006 and broke the earlier record of Brian Lara

One-Day Internationals

ODI Debut: vs Sri Lanka, Singapore, 1995-1996
*Dravid's best ODI batting score of 153 was made against New Zealand, Hyderabad, 1999-2000
*His best ODI bowling figures of 2 for 43 came against South Africa, Kochi, 1999-2000
*6th player and 3rd Indian to score 10,000 runs. He broke the barrier by scoring 66 against Sri Lanka and levelling the series 1-1.

Achievements

Awards

* 1999: Ceat Cricketer of the 1999 World Cup
* 2000: Wisden Cricketer of the Year 2000 [cite web | title=Rahul Dravid - Wisden Cricketer of the Year | url=http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/154389.html | publisher=Wisden Almanack | accessdate=2007-03-27]
* 2004: Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy Winner (Awarded for ICC Player of the Year)cite web | title=Dravid walks away with honours| url=http://www.hindu.com/2004/09/09/stories/2004090906561800.htm | publisher=The Hindu | date=2004-09-09 | accessdate=2007-03-27]
* 2004: Padma Shri [cite web | title=Rahul Dravid awarded Padma Shri| url=http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/july012004/i7.asp | publisher=Deccan Herald |date=2004-07-01 | accessdate=2007-03-27]
* 2004: ICC Test Player of The Year
* 2006: Captain of the ICC's Test Team [cite web | title=ICC Test Team Captain 2006 | url=http://ia.rediff.com/cricket/2006/nov/03dravid.htm | publisher=Rediff | date=2006-11-03 | accessdate=2007-03-27]

Test Cricket Awards

Test Match - Man of the Series Awards:

:

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. [ [http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/01/21/1074360836935.html?from=storyrhs Dravid ball-tampering incident SMH] ] Lloyd emphasised that television footage conclusively showed the star Indian batsman intentionally applying a lozenge to the ball during the Zimbabwean innings on Tuesday night at the Gabba, which was in breach of clause 2.10 of the ICC's Code of Conduct.

Indian coach John Wright came out in defence of Dravid, stating that "It was an innocent mistake". Dravid did not comment on the incident due to ICC regulations, but former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly also stated that Dravid's act was "just an accident". Ricky Ponting had his own take on the incident, asserting "I don't think you'll see us doing anything like that," [ [http://content-www.cricinfo.com/wc2007/content/story/137724.html John Wright defence of Dravid Cricinfo] ]

Biographies

Rahul Dravid has 2 biographies written on his career:

* Rahul Dravid - A Biography written by Vedam Jaishankar (ISBN 817476481X). Publisher: UBSPD Publications. Date: January 2004 [cite web | title=Book Review - Rahul Dravid, A Biography | url=http://thatscricket.oneindia.in/beyond/bookreview/1701dravid.html | accessdate=2007-03-27]

* The Nice Guy Who Finished First written by Devendra Prabhudesai. Publisher: Rupa Publications. Date: November 2005 [cite web | title=Book Launch:The Nice Guy Who Finished First | url=http://us.rediff.com/cricket/2005/nov/17look.htm | date= [2005-11-17] | publisher=Rediff | accessdate=2007-03-27]

Endorsments

* Reebok: 1996 - "present" [cite web | title= 3 more ambassadors for Reebok |url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2004/05/08/stories/2004050800580900.htm | date=2004-05-07 | publisher=The Hindu Business Line | accessdate=2007-03-27]
* Pepsi: 1997 "present" [cite web | title= Rahul Dravid to be the brand ambassador of Pepsi |url=http://www.rediff.com/sports/jun/10b.htm | date=1997-06-10 | publisher=Rediff | accessdate=2007-03-27]
* Kissan: "Unknown" [cite web | title= Rahul Dravid to be the brand ambassador of |url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20020512/spectrum/main1.htm | date=2002-05-12 | publisher=The Tribune | accessdate=2007-03-27]
* Castrol: 2001 - "present" [cite web | title= Rahul Dravid to be the brand ambassador of Castrol |url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/businessline/catalyst/2001/02/16/stories/1916a053.htm | date=2001-02-16 | publisher=The Hindu Business Line | accessdate=2007-03-27]
* Hutch: 2003
* Karnataka Tourism: 2004 [cite web | title= Rahul Dravid to be the honorary brand ambassador of Karnataka Tourism |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-515305.cms | date=2004-02-23 | publisher=The Times of India | accessdate=2007-03-27]
* Max Life: 2005 - "present" [cite web | title= Rahul Dravid to be the brand ambassador of Max Life Insurance|url=http://headlines.sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=13728610| date=2005-04-27 | publisher=Sify | accessdate=2007-03-27]
* Bank of Baroda: 2005 - "present" [cite web | title= Rahul Dravid to be the brand ambassador of Bank of Baroda |url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/06/07/stories/2005060703020100.htm | date=2005-06-07 | publisher=The Hindu Business Line | accessdate=2007-03-27]
* Citizen: 2006 - "present" [cite web | title= Rahul Dravid to be the brand ambassador of Citizen Watches|url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/05/09/19hdline.htm | date=2006-05-09 | publisher=The Hindu Business Line | accessdate=2007-03-27]
* Skyline Construction: 2006 - "present" [cite web | title= Rahul Dravid to be the brand ambassador of Skyline Construction |url=http://www.rediff.com/money/2006/nov/10sky.htm | date=2006-11-10 | publisher=Rediff | accessdate=2007-03-27]
* Sansui: 2007 - "present" [cite web | title= Rahul Dravid to be the brand ambassador of Sansui |url=http://www.blonnet.com/2007/02/16/stories/2007021603640700.htm | date=2007-02-16 | publisher=The Hindu Business Line | accessdate=2007-03-27]
* Gillette: 2007 - now

Social Commitments:
* Children's Movement for Civic Awareness (CMCA) [cite web | title= Rahul Dravid to endorse CMCA |url=http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/jan272005/metro4.htm | date=2005-01-27 | publisher=Deccan Herald | accessdate=2007-03-27]
* UNICEF Supporter and AIDS Awareness Campaign [cite web | title= Rahul Dravid leads AIDS Awareness Campaign |url=http://www.indiantelevision.com/mam/headlines/y2k4/july/julymam45.htm | date=2004-07-16 | publisher=Indian Television.com | accessdate=2007-03-27]

References

External links

* [http://ind.cricinfo.com/db/PLAYERS/IND/D/DRAVID_R_06002281/ Cricinfo Player Profile : Rahul Dravid]
* [http://www.cricketfundas.com/rahuldravidinterviewaug08.html CricketFundas Interview with Rahul Dravid]
* [http://hindustantimes.com/Cricket/PlayersProfile.aspx?PlayerId=2042 HindustanTimes.com Player Profile]
* [http://www.howstat.com.au/cricket/Statistics/Players/PlayerOverview.asp?PlayerID=2060 HowSTAT! statistical profile on Rahul Dravid]
* [http://www.pwcratings.com/cricket/cricket.htm PwC Batsman Rankings]
* [http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/SUNDAY_SPECIALS/Special_Report/Meet_Rahul_Sharad_Dravid/articleshow/1675924.cms Rahul Dravid-ToI]

----