India’s newly appointed Head Coach Rahul Dravid is one of the greatest ambassadors of the game. Throughout his long and illustrious career, Rahul Dravid carried himself in the most gentlemanly manner, on and off the field, and he continues to do so even after his retirement.
Dravid, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in cricket’s history, had the tightest technique and bowlers across the world respected him for his copybook technique. Pakistan’s fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has said many times that Rahul Dravid was the toughest batsman he ever bowled agaisnt, and never liked bowling to him.
Rahul Dravid is one of those players who never used words on the field and let his bat do all the talking. No one could provoke him because he was always 100% focused on facing the next ball and anything other than that just didn’t matter to him.
However, in this post, we bring to you some of the rare occasions when Rahul Dravid shut down people with his wit, sarcasm and humour. It goes without saying that he did it without crossing the line and maintaining the respect for other person’s views.
1) When Rahul Dravid left Nasser Hussain speechless.
Nasser Hussain: They’re peaking too early, aren’t they? Are you worried Rahul that your boys are peaking too early?
Rahul Dravid (referring to England’s poor record in the tournament): Nasser, it’s better to peak early than to not peak at all! You have to peak early to make to the quarter-finals actually. That’s bit of the rules of the tournament.
2) When Rahul Dravid trolled Shahid Afridi from the commentary box
Shoaib Akhtar: “Pakistan ke liye jeetna ab kaafi mushkil, saari ummeede sirf Afridi pe tiki hai!”
(It is very difficult for Pakistan to win from here. Shahid Afridi is their inly hope)
Rahul Dravid: “Ye to bohot hi buri haalat hai agar ummeede Afridi pe tiki hai.”
(It is extremely worrisome if Shahid Afridi is the only hope)
Shoaib Akhtar just couldn’t stop laughing after Dravid’s hilarious reply.
3) When Dravid got into a hilarious banter with Sourav Ganguly on air
Dravid: I was just trying to figure out how many overs I gave to Tendulkar and Ganguly (in 2007). Maybe I under bowled Ganguly there, but Sachin had more Test wickets.
Ganguly: He (Dravid) always did that.
Bhogle: Tendulkar has more Test wickets than Ganguly.
Ganguly: That’s because he (Tendulkar) bowled half his overs on turning pitches in India.
Bhogle: I like how you (Ganguly) are sticking to your territory.
Ganguly: Those turning pitches on day 5 in India. Those dust bowls. I wish I knew how to bowl a little bit of spin. That’s on flat batting pitches. On good pitches where you needed skill, look at the economy (2.3 rpo in 2007). I did the perfect 5th bowler’s job.
Dravid: Sanjay Manjekar made a really good point in the commentary box. If Ganguly had been a yard quicker and just a little bit fitter, he would have been a match-winner.
4) When Rahul Dravid trolled Rajdeep Sardesai
In 2007, during an interaction, Rajdeep Sardesai, citing Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni’s example, asked Rahul Dravid whether players are becoming bigger than the game. He said that while the former gets to choose who will be the coach of the national team, the latter gets to decide when he will retire.
To which, Rahul Dravid replied:
“Don’t be critical of just Virat and Dhoni, even Ashish Nehra is getting to decide when he retires.”
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