One of the greatest Test batsman India has ever produced turns 45 today. The man of many matches and one of the most respected cricketers around the globe, Rahul Dravid turns a year older. Known as the 'wall', the former Indian skipper started playing at the age of 12 and since then there has been no turning back. His performances were pure elegance and he was never a player who would prefer the limelight despite his match-winning knocks for the Indian team.
Dravid has been at the pinnacle of Test cricket and a principal architect of several wins for the Indian team. One of the most prized wicket of every bowler, the 'wall' always stood his ground and would bat for hours in Test cricket. Dravid was one of the first to be taken into consideration when India would travel overseas for Test series as his consistent performances between 2002 and 2006 have been exceptional.
Dravid amassed runs at an average of 63.69, scoring on any condition against any opposition and is only among five cricketers with Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Brian Lara and Jacque Kallis to score more than 10,000 runs in One Day Internationals and Test cricket.
Dravid's statistics script an entirely different era in the Indian cricket history books as he has smashed 13,288 runs and 36 centuries in Test cricket and 10,889 runs with 12 tons in One Day Internationals.
Even though the 'Wall' announced his retirement on 9th March 2011, the former swashbuckler is now the current India 'A' and the U-19 team coach. Dravid leads the young players in the ICC U-19 World Cup at New Zealand this month. Dravid will fondly be remembered as a humble and modest cricketer in Indian history.
The cricket fraternity and many others wish Rahul Dravid a very happy birthday!
