The Rahul Dravid File
DRAVID BY THE NUMBERS
3���Number of Man of the Series Awards he has won in Test cricket.
5���Double-centuries he has scored.
7���Ranking as a Test batsmen by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
22 Number of Man of the Match Awards he has won (13 in ODIs)
23 Age when he made his international debut.
34 His current age. (He was born Jan. 11, 1973, in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.)
176 Innings it took him to reach 9,000 runs, the fastest in Test cricket history.
270 Runs he scored against Pakistan in 2004, his career best score.
461 Runs he scored at the 1999 World Cup, leading all batsmen.
DRAVID QUOTES
"I want to say that at this level I shouldn't need to motivate anyone. If I'm needing to motivate an international cricketer then there's something wrong actually." (Cricinfo magazine)
"I try and play one ball at a time ? The most important thing to realize when you are batting is that the only thing that decides your fate, your score, your career or anything else, is that next ball. What happened in the past and what will happen in the future is something you can't control." (Rediff.com)
"As long as you are willing to improve and you are constantly improving and looking for ways to improve then I think you become a better player and that sort of continues till you finish. I mean, even now I am looking to improve, to be better." (The Hindu)
"I do enjoy captaincy. I see it as a great honor and privilege and I have enjoyed it. I have enjoyed everything that comes with it." (The Hindu)
DRAVID FACTS
He grew up in Bangalore, where his father, Sharad, worked for Kissan Products Ltd and his mother, Pushpa, was a professor of architecture at Bangalore University. He was the cricket captain and top student in his final year at St. Joseph's Boys' High School.
Making his ODI debut against Sri Lanka on April 3, 1996, he scored only 21 runs in four matches. After being dropped briefly from the squad, he fared better in his Test debut, scoring 95 against England that June. He has since established himself as one of the best batsmen in the world, winning numerous awards, including ICC Test Player of the Year in 2004. He was named captain of the Indian team on Oct. 13, 2005, succeeding Sourav Ganguly.
He married Vijeta Pendharkar, a surgeon from Nagpur, on May 4, 2003. Their son, Samit Rahul Dravid, was born on 11 October, 2005.
DRAVID TRIVIA
His teammates at St. Joseph's gave him the nickname Jammy, because his father worked for Kissan, a company that makes jams and preserves. He has since earned the nickname "The Wall" for his consistency.
He doesn't consider himself very superstitious, but always puts his right pad on first.
He does better in away matches than at home, averaging over 10 more runs a match abroad than on Indian pitches
Enjoyed reading Khabar magazine? Subscribe to Khabar and get a full digital copy of this Indian-American community magazine.
