In his 16-year career, former Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid — referred by many as ‘The Wall’ — built a reputation as a masterful batsman and an authoritative figure at the crease. While the batting maestro’s performance spoke volumes about his grit, Dravid himself was known to be a reserved man.
Now, however, three years after hanging his boots, Dravid has spoken out about his life and what made him the cricketer and the family man he is now. In a video titled ‘My Mother’s Scrapbook’, Dravid takes viewers through snippets of his life and his journey from childhood to the middle of electric international cricket fields. "He was a perfectionist," former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly once said about Dravid. The immensely successful No. 3 batsman, also India’s former skipper, speaks about how he took a fancy to the Gentleman’s Game.
"I hero-worshipped my father and grew curious about this game he loves so much. His idea of a day well-spent was going to watch cricket and my bother Vijay and I were encouraged to tag along," Dravid says in the video.
"As the evening cricket matches in my neighbourhood became a daily affair, my curiosity gave way to interest and this interest soon gave way to love," Dravid says in the video.
"As the evening cricket matches in my neighbourhood became a daily affair, my curiosity gave way to interest and this interest soon gave way to love," Dravid says in the video.
“As a young boy I loved playing school sports. I took part in high-jump and distance running and represented the school in hockey and football. But my first love cricket seemed to endure,” he adds.
Once the backbone of the Indian cricket team, Dravid has scored 13,288 runs in 164 Tests, a total bettered only by long-time India team-mate Sachin Tendulkar, and added another 10,889 in 344 one-day internationals.
"When my batting average exceeded my school grades, I guess the writing was on the wall," Dravid says with the same craft he once displayed on the cricket field.
Full video of the scrapbook
Rahul Dravid - "My Mother's Scrapbook" from Rahul Dravid on Vimeo.
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