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In the game of cricket, some judge batsmen by the number of runs they make while some are judged based on the manner and in the circumstances they are made. By either criteria, with both formats in mind, Rahul Sharad Dravid is unarguably one of the greatest of all-time.
The son of a food scientist and a professor of architecture, Dravid represented the state of Karnataka in the Indian Domestic Circuit. With years of consistent performances, he finally made it to the 1996 Indian touring party for England. When told by coach Sandeep Patil that he would finally get to bat at Lord's, his face just lit up. Joining fellow debutante and future skipper Saurav Ganguly, Dravid made highly polished, textbook strokes before unfortunately falling for 95. During the following years, Dravid maintained high levels of his trademark consistency but wasn't able to convert fifties into centuries. This dilemma came to an end at Johannesburg, when against pace legend Allan Donald at his peak, he registered scores of 148 and 81. From there on, there was no looking back. And entering into the 21st century, Dravid became the centrefold of India's batting line-up, with India finally starting to win tests overseas, Dravid trailing only Sachin Tendulkar for the title of India's greatest batsman ever.
But like all greats, Dravid too lost form in the middle years starting from India's disastrous exit from the 2007 World Cup. Working hard to remodel his technique, Dravid finally found his touch on India's otherwise disastrous tour of England in 2011 where despite his 3 centuries, India was whitewashed 4-0. And after an individual poor showing in another 4-0 series whitewash, this time in Australia, Dravid, knowing fully both cricket viewers and critics will come for his blood, announced his retirement from international cricket.
"The Wall", as he is fondly called by the global cricket community, continues to contribute to India as one of the guiding lights to youngsters, nurturing their skills before they become the mainstray of the National team.
One of the nicest men to ever grace the sport, Dravid has unquestionably carved his name as one of the greatest of all-time.
