Rahul Dravid

From Cricipedia - The Cricket Encyclopedia!

Rahul Sharad Dravid (Marathi:राहुल शरद द्रविड , Kannada:ರಾಹುಲ್‌ ಶರದ್‌ ದ್ರಾವಿಡ) (born 11 January 1973 in Indore, Madhya Pradesh) is an Indian cricketer, and the former captain of the Indian team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. Dravid is one of only three Indian batsmen to have scored 9,000 runs in Test cricket (the other two being Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar). On 14 February 2007, he became the sixth player in history and only the third Indian after Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly to score 10,000 runs in One Day Internationals. On 14 September 2007 he announced his resignation as captain of India team. He was named one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 2000.

With a strong technique, he has been the backbone for the Indian team. Beginning with the reputation of being a defensive batsman who should be confined to Test cricket, he was dropped from ODIs as he was slow in making runs. However, in a period of his career he began consistently scoring runs in ODIs as well, earning him the award of ICC player of the year. His nickname of 'The Wall' in Reebok advertisements has now become a tribute to his consistency. Dravid has scored 24 centuries in Test cricket at an average of 55.11, including 5 double centuries. In one-dayers though he has an average of 39.49, and a strike rate of 71.22.

He is the Icon Player in the Bangalore Royal Challengers team which is to participate in the Indian Premier League.