Humility is a word often synonymised with the character of Rahul Dravid. The legend with the bat is a legend in his attitude and actions as well.
This trait of India’s second-highest international run-scorer was once again exemplified when Rahul Dravid, on request of his coach, came out of retirement to bat in a club game to save his childhood club.
Rahul Dravid had retired from international cricket in 2012 and played his last T20 game – for Rajasthan Royals versus Mumbai Indians in the now-defunct Champions League tournament – in October 2013 before hanging his boots from all forms.
But, only a couple of months after that he padded up, walked in the middle and scored a century. He played for his childhood club Bangalore United Cricket Club (BUCC) when his coach approached the legendary batsman and asked him to play for them and help them avoid relegation.
Therein lays his greatness. Rahul Dravid, being as modest as ever, obliged on the request and played in the lower rungs of the city cricket to save his former club where he’d spent some memorable times and learnt aplenty.
The match was a part of Karnataka State Cricket Association’s (KSCA) Group I Division II and if not for Dravid’s century, BUCC would have dropped down to the lower tier.
The right-hander came to bat wearing the Rajasthan Royals helmet and recorded 113 runs with the help of which the side gained a crucial first-innings lead that earned them valuable points and the club was able to retain its place in the division.
Another talking point about that game was that Rahul Dravid, who with his stature could have easily avoided fielding, but was on the field on the first day of the match, before his turn to bat on the second day.
Dravid’s childhood club BUCC was about to get relegated. The coach asked Rahul to play & save them from relegation. He accepted it & made a century helping BUCC to get the req points. This is after his retirement from all forms of cricket in Oct2013. #HappyBirthdayRahulDravid pic.twitter.com/vwdJ8Vn7cj
— Kaushik (@_CricKaushik_) January 10, 2022
This gesture by Rahul Dravid, the current Indian head coach, is just another proof of the kind of person Indian cricket has been blessed with.
As for Dravid the cricketer, the numbers speak for itself: he made his India debut in 1996 and retired with13288 Test runs at an average of 52 and 10889 ODI runs at 39; he hit a total of 48 international hundreds to go with 146 half-centuries. Dravid also holds the record for being the non-wicketkeeper player with the most catches in Tests with 210 catches.
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