Cricinfo - Players and Officials

Full name Rahul Sharad Dravid
Born January 11, 1973, Indore, Madhya Pradesh
Current age 35 years 127 days
Major teams India, Scotland, Asia XI, Bangalore Royal Challengers, ICC World XI, Karnataka, Kent
Nickname The Wall
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm offbreak
Fielding position Occasional wicketkeeper
Education St. Joseph's Boys' High School

Batting and fielding averages
	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St
Tests	122	210	26	10098	270	54.88	24075	41.94	25	51	1270	14	172	0
ODIs	333	308	40	10585	153	39.49	14862	71.22	12	81	930	40	193	14
First-class	241	397	58	19259	270	56.81			52	98			290	1
List A	436	404	55	14861	153	42.58			21	109			227	17
Twenty20	12	12	1	328	75*	29.81	254	129.13	0	3	35	10	2	0

Bowling averages
	Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	4w	5w	10
Tests	122	5	120	39	1	1/18	1/18	39.00	1.95	120.0	0	0	0
ODIs	333	8	186	170	4	2/43	2/43	42.50	5.48	46.5	0	0	0
First-class	241		617	273	5	2/16		54.60	2.65	123.4		0	0
List A	436		477	421	4	2/43	2/43	105.25	5.29	119.2	0	0	0
Twenty20	12	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Career statistics
Test debut	England v India at Lord's, Jun 20-24, 1996 scorecard
Last Test	India v South Africa at Kanpur, Apr 11-13, 2008 scorecard
Test statistics
ODI debut	India v Sri Lanka at Singapore, Apr 3, 1996 scorecard
Last ODI	India v Australia at Nagpur, Oct 14, 2007 scorecard
ODI statistics
First-class debut	1990/91
Last First-class	India v South Africa at Kanpur, Apr 11-13, 2008 scorecard
List A debut	1992/93
Last List A	Central Zone v South Zone at Hyderabad (Decc), Mar 20, 2008 scorecard
Twenty20 debut	Karnataka v Gujarat at Mumbai (BS), Apr 17, 2007 scorecard
Last Twenty20	Rajasthan Royals v Bangalore Royal Challengers at Jaipur, May 17, 2008 scorecard

Profile

Rahul Dravid, a cricketer who seamlessly blends an old-world classicism with a new-age professionalism, is the best No. 3 batsman to play for India - and might even be considered one of the best ever by the time his career is done. He already averages around 60 at that position, more than any regular No. 3 batsman in the game's history, barring Don Bradman. Unusually for an Indian batsman, he also averages more overseas - around 60, again - than at home. But impressive as his statistics are, they cannot represent the extent of his importance to India, or the beauty of his batsmanship.

When Dravid began playing Test cricket, he was quickly stereotyped as a technically correct player capable of stonewalling against the best attacks - his early nickname was 'The Wall' - but of little else. As the years went by, though, Dravid, a sincere batsman who brought humility and a deep intelligence to his study of the game, grew in stature, finally reaching full blossom under Sourav Ganguly's captaincy. As a New India emerged, so did a new Dravid: first, he put on the wicketkeeping gloves in one-dayers, and transformed himself into an astute finisher in the middle-order; then, he strung together a series of awe-inspiring performances in Test matches, as India crept closer and closer to their quest of an overseas series win.

Dravid's golden phase began, arguably, in Kolkata 2001, with a supporting act, when he made 180 to supplement VVS Laxman's classic effort of 281 against Australia. But from then on, Dravid became India's most valuable player, saving them Tests at Port Elizabeth, Georgetown and Trent Bridge, winning them Tests at Headlingley, Adelaide, Kandy and Rawalpindi. At one point during this run, he carved up four centuries in successive innings, and hit four double-centuries in the space of 15 Tests, including in historic away-wins at Adelaide and Rawalpindi. As India finished off the 2004 Pakistan tour on a winning note, on the back of Dravid's epic 270, his average crept past Sachin Tendulkar's - and it seemed no aberration.

Dravid's amazing run was no triumph of substance over style, though, for he has plenty of both. A classical strokeplayer who plays every shot in the book, he often outscores team-mates like Tendulkar and Laxman in the course of partnerships with them, and while his pulling and cover-driving is especially breathtaking, he has every other shot in the book as well. He is both an artist and a craftsman, repeatedly constructing innings that stand out not merely for the beauty of their execution, but for the context in which they come. By the time he entered his 30s, Dravid was already in the pantheon of great Indian batsmen, alongside Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar.

In October 2005, he was appointed captain the one-day side, began with a thumping 6-1 hammering of Sri Lanka in a home series, and was soon given responsibility of the Test side as well, taking over from the controversy-shrouded Sourav Ganguly. While his captaincy stint started encouragingly with ODI victories against Pakistan and England, it soon nosedived with an embarrassing defeat against Bangladesh which led to an early exit from the 2007 World Cup. As a Test team, though, India had plenty to celebrate under Dravid, winning their first Test in South Africa and achieving two historic away series wins in the West Indies and England. Dravid stepped down from the captaincy after the 2007 England tour. A poor run in a one-day series at home against Australia saw Dravid dropped from the subsequent series against Pakistan. As he waited for the Tests to begin, Dravid notched up two centuries, one a double, in consecutive Ranji Trophy games for his state side, Karnataka.
Amit Varma November 2007