There are different breeds of cricketers, the one that immediately comes to our mind are Sachin Tendulkar, M.S Dhoni, etc. but there are some others whose hard work pays more than cricketing aptitude, such is Rahul Dravid. 

Rahul Dravid was born on 11 January, 1973 in Indore Madhya Pradesh. He is a right – handed batsman, making his debut in India vs Sri Lanka ODI at Singapore on 3rd April, 1996 and against England on 20th June, 1996.

Early Life

Rahul Dravid playing cricket

He started playing cricket at the age of 12 and scored a century in a school tournament. He got selected for under-15, under-17 and under-19 tournaments in Karnataka. In February 1991, he played for Ranji Trophy, against Pune and scored 82 runs. In 1991-92, he played his first full season scoring 2 centuries which got him selected for Duleep Trophy. 

Playing Style

He played as a right-handed batsman. His nature while playing is always cool on the field. Trained by Coach Keki Tarapore and G R Vishwanath, he likes to play against Australia.

Personal Life

Dravid was born to Sharad and Pushpa Dravid. He has an elder brother, Vijay Dravid. Completing his schooling from St. Joseph’s Boys High School in Bangalore, we went ahead with attaining a degree in Commerce from St. Joseph’s College of Commerce in Bangalore. He got married to Vijeta Pendharkar on 4th of May, 2003. Now they have two sons, Samit & Anvay Dravid.

Dravid’s Records

  • World record of partnership in ODI, 331 runs partnership with Sachin Tendulkar and 318 runs partnership with Sourav Ganguly.
  • Holds a record for playing 5 double centuries, each scoring higher than the previous one (200, 217, 222, 233, 270).
  • Named as Wisden Cricketers of the year in 2000. 
  • The only Indian Cricketer who scored 10000 in both tests and ODIs after Sachin Tendulkar.
  • Holds a record of most number of catches taken (210) being a non – wicket keeper.

Turning point of career 

Awarded with Man of the Match when he played against South Africa as he scored 277 runs in 3 test match series. He received big applause for it.

Awards and Honors:

  • 1998: Arjuna Award for Cricket
  • 2000: Wisden Cricketers of the Year
  • 2004: Padma Shri 
  • Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy
  • ICC Award for Test Player of the Year
  • 2013: Padma Bhusan

Controversies

  • A fine for half match’s fees was obtained from Dravid for ball tampering in January 2004 while playing an ODI against Zimbabwe. 
  • While Sachin Tendulkar was at a cut point for scoring a double century (194 runs) while 16 overs were remaining, he declared the Indian inning during the Multan Test in March 2004. He was highly criticized for this act. 

Some lesser Known facts: 

  • Though he lives in Karnataka, his mother tongue is Marathi. 
  • His nickname ‘Jammy’ derived from his father working in a factory manufacturing Jams. It became so popular that local school tournaments were called “Jammy Cups”.
  • In childhood, he was obsessed with hockey so much that he got selected for the junior hockey team.