Former Indian cricketer and batting legend Rahul Dravid, who is fondly called ‘The Wall’ of the Indian cricket team, is one of the most selfless cricketers to have played for team India. He has always stood tall for the Men in Blue irrespective of the format but also in different positions and roles. He has had a stellar international career across all formats of the game.
Recently, Dravid participated in the third talk of the TRUTHtalk series by Desh Apnayen Sahaypog Foundation and Satya Vigyan Foundation, where he talked about many things including his fair share of ups and downs during his career. However, it was his love for team India that kept him going. He said:
“I have had my share of ups and downs but I think what’s kept me going is just the love for the game and just trying to get the best of myself,”
During the discussion, ‘The Wall’ Rahul Dravid opened up about his approach to coaching. He revealed that he believes in coaching not just a cricketer but a person and that it is the experiences that have made him the cricketer he is today. He said:
”In sports, you are put in the spotlight a lot and your failure is very public, as your success is as well and you need to deal with that. It is not easy at times, it sometimes makes you do things that you necessarily not very proud of and sometimes you learn from those things. It has become so much more competitive today that it has actually become harder for sportsman to have a normal life,”
Rahul Dravid was the head coach of the Indian cricket team that won the World Cup Under-19 in the year 2018 however he feels that everyone made an equal contribution to the victory and it was unfair that he was paid a little-bit extra. He said:
”We as support staff did our bit to create the environment and I felt that everyone had played their part and so I just felt a little unfair that I was being paid a little bit extra.”
He was also asked about his guiding principles in his personal and professional life. Talking about which, he revealed:
“Being honest to who I am and try being myself and recognise that you know I am only the custodian of the game for a short period of time and I need to try to leave the game at a better place when I am going to leave,”
