Kevin Pietersen’s autobiography is arguably one of the most controversial autobiographies by a cricketer, ever. In his book, Pietersen hasn’t written too many positive things about his teammates. But was all praise for former Indian captain Rahul Dravid.
“Rahul was a great and heroic Indian batsman in his day. He is also a genius at dealing with spin bowlers. Our conversations and emails were a private masterclass from a genuine guru,” wrote Pietersen. “Rahul improved my cricket and helped me develop the way I think about the game. His generosity will stay with me always.”
Rahul Dravid is someone who has always been a team-man, and he is known for his helpful behavior. Rahul Dravid had one of the tightest techniques in the game, and during his career that lasted for almost 2 decades, he helped many young Indian batsmen overcome their technical flaws.
Kevin Pietersen, who shared a dressing room with Rahul Dravid for Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2009 and 2010, was all praise for the former Indian captain calling him a “genuine guru” and crediting him in improving his game against spin bowling. Pietersen, throughout his career, struggled to bat against left-arm spin. Pietersen has written in his book that his conversation with Rahul Dravid in the Indian Premier League (IPL) helped him a lot and improved his technique against spin,
“My playing of spin has gone up a number of levels since I’ve spent time in the IPL, and in particular, since I’ve spoken to Rahul Dravid,” Kevin Pietersen wrote in his book.
Kevin Pietersen also mentioned about how an email from Rahul Dravid inspired him and improved his game.
In the email, Dravid wrote, “KP, you are a really good player, you need to watch the ball and trust yourself … Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t play spin, I have seen you and you can!”
In his book, Pietersen has written that he really the cricketing culture in the sub-continent, and he described Indian players are “free-spirit”.
Kevin Pietersen was all praise for the cricket culture in India, particularly IPL.
“The IPL is professionalism taken to its logical extreme. All the bullshit and hypocrisy have been turned off.”
“There is a culture in India that appreciates if you double down and go for the big shot. It’s a game of cricket, not economics. Not life or death. Take a risk. IPL crowds don’t want to see you batting out singles as you pick and choose which balls to hit. Life is too short,” Pietersen wrote.
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image source: ESPNCRICINFO
