Mohali/Hyderabad: A true servant of the game Rahul Dravid will be celebrating his 51st birthday at the IS Bindra Cricket Stadium in Mohali as the head coach of the Indian Cricket Team which takes on Afghanistan in the first T20 of the three-match series on Thursday.
Fondly called 'Jammy' during his playing days, Dravid was the go-to man for his captain. Any role assigned to him, he would do it faithfully.
A Test specialist, Rahul Dravid even donned the gloves in the 2003 World Cup in South Africa so that the Men in Blue could accommodate an extra batter in the playing eleven. And the move paid rich dividends as India led Sourav Ganguly to the summit clash at the New Wanderers in Johannesburg only to emerge second best behind Australia.
Another important milestone in Rahul Dravid's career is the 2001 Test against Australia at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. India had lost the first Test in Mumbai and was asked to follow on by the Steve Waugh-led side.
Rahul Dravid and his batting partner VVS Laxman batted one hole and took on a formidable Australia attack, also comprising late spinner Shane Warne, and took the game away from the opposition. As much as the game is remembered for VVS Laxman's classy 281, it is also remembered for Rahul Dravid, who is called The Wall.
Another key milestone in Rahul Dravid's career has been the Adelaide Test in the 2002-2003 series Down Under. It was only due to Rahul Dravid's brilliance that India under charismatic skipper Saurav Ganguly managed to win a Test Down Under, a rarity in those days.
Having made his Test debut at the iconic Lords Stadium after playing for Karnataka in the domestic circuit, Rahul Dravid's journey has been an inspiration to young cricketers. Dravid himself has on several occasions admitted that during his career he failed several times and hence has the right to speak on failure.
Dravid's commitment to the game is very high. However, as a player, he could not win any ICC ODI World Cup. He also captained India and after he hung up his boots, Dravid started creating future starts for India.
Dravid took over the reins of the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru and from there he started identifying and nurturing talent. The likes of young guns like Shubman Gill owe their success to Rahul Dravid - the mentor.
He then took over the reins of the Indian Cricket Team, a job full of expectations, and has been successful to an extent. Dravid poured his heart and soul in, and gave valuable tips during his first stint as the head coach after which the BCCI gave him another chance.
Yes, an ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 eluded the team and the great man, but such were his guts that Rahul Dravid faced the media after a heart-wrenching defeat to Australia in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. A calm and composed Dravid had said the sun will rise tomorrow as he too lives over 140 crore Indian cricket crazy fans who lived with hope to end the ICC Trophy drought.
Dravid, a very simple man, had a share of controversies too. The most prominent among them is when he declared the Indian innings in the Test against Pakistan when batting great Sachin Tendulkar was about to reach his double hundred in Multan.
Rahul Dravid as a coach did win an ICC Trophy when India A led by Prithvi Shah had won the U19 World Cup. An extremely soft-spoken and down-to-earth person, without any fame on social media, Rahul Dravid silently continued to do his work.
The great Sachin Tendulkar wished Rahul Dravid on his birthday and wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, "Happy birthday to my teammate and friend, Rahul Dravid. Wishing you the best of health and happiness. May this year bring lots of joy and success."
For the elegant former right-handed batter, who played a staggering 509 international matches, it would be only befitting that Rohit Sharma and his team give their beloved coach, for whom they wanted to win the coveted ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, a worthy gift by thrashing Afghanistan sans Rashid Khan.
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