A very good news for all the fans of Rahul Dravid - India’s President Pranab Mukherjee has presented him with one of the country’s highest civilian awards, the Padma Bhushan, in a ceremony in New Delhi.
Friday, April 5, 2013
Sunday, August 12, 2012
"Remember, patience has its reward! " - Rahul Dravid to students
Source: Herald (English Daily in Goa)
You cannot reach 13,000 runs in Test Cricket, 10,000 runs in ODI cricket, become the first and only batsman to score a century in all 10 Test playing nations and hold the world record for the most number of catches in Test cricket beside captaining your country in both disciplines of the game without the determination, discipline and humility of a Rahul Dravid.
Speaking as Chief Guest at the Sharada Mandir Annual Awards function, the former star cricketer started his speech on a humorous note, “Mr Dattaraj Salgaocar should have warned me that the students of this school do so well and receive numerous awards as I would have exercised before coming. As I have retired, it is very difficult for me to stand for so long, giving away the awards.” The humour continued, “As I sat here, I looked back at fond memories of my school days when we had many chief guests come for many functions. I tried to remember their speeches, but believe me I could not remember even one. That takes the pressure off me today because after many years when you look back, you won’t remember what I said.”
On a serious note, the “Wall of Indian Cricket” said, “I would like to pass on to you the three key factors that made a difference to my life.” He quizzed the students as to what was most important if two people were climbing a mountain. Various replies shot out of the crowd - determination, hard work, oxygen (which Dravid concurred was most important) but he finally said, “My teacher told me that it was the mountain itself. Yes, in life, it is important for you to find your mountain or that clear goal as it will give you a sense of purpose and you will put in the required sacrifice but it has to be your own mountain, not of your parents or teachers.”
The ex-cricketer stated ‘focus’ as the second factor, “Because goals are of no use if you do not have the ability to stay focussed. You are growing up in India with so many opportunities that it is easy to get distracted.” Citing the example of trying to catch many rabbits in a pen, Dravid urged the students to stay focussed on catching one. He said, “If things are not working, change your tactics but don’t give up on your goal.”
The third factor ‘patience’ was really impacting. He said, “My wife and I have built a new home with a lovely garden which houses lovely bamboo trees. I got reading on the Chinese bamboo and learned that the tree takes 5 years, 3 months to grow to its whole height of 80 feet. Yet, for the first 5 years, you only see a tiny green shoot, but in the next 90 days, it grows into a full-fledged tree. But in those first 60 months, it is growing its strong network of roots underground, to support the tree. In an era of instant gratification, we settle for shorter trees, but remember patience has its reward. These are your years of growing that strong network of roots but be sure when you finally achieve your success, people will call it “overnight success”. If only they knew of the Chinese bamboo!”
Earlier in the evening, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Sharada Mandir School and wife Dipti Salgaocar extended a warm welcome to Rahul Dravid and his family and presented them with floral bouquets and mementos.
You cannot reach 13,000 runs in Test Cricket, 10,000 runs in ODI cricket, become the first and only batsman to score a century in all 10 Test playing nations and hold the world record for the most number of catches in Test cricket beside captaining your country in both disciplines of the game without the determination, discipline and humility of a Rahul Dravid.
Speaking as Chief Guest at the Sharada Mandir Annual Awards function, the former star cricketer started his speech on a humorous note, “Mr Dattaraj Salgaocar should have warned me that the students of this school do so well and receive numerous awards as I would have exercised before coming. As I have retired, it is very difficult for me to stand for so long, giving away the awards.” The humour continued, “As I sat here, I looked back at fond memories of my school days when we had many chief guests come for many functions. I tried to remember their speeches, but believe me I could not remember even one. That takes the pressure off me today because after many years when you look back, you won’t remember what I said.”
On a serious note, the “Wall of Indian Cricket” said, “I would like to pass on to you the three key factors that made a difference to my life.” He quizzed the students as to what was most important if two people were climbing a mountain. Various replies shot out of the crowd - determination, hard work, oxygen (which Dravid concurred was most important) but he finally said, “My teacher told me that it was the mountain itself. Yes, in life, it is important for you to find your mountain or that clear goal as it will give you a sense of purpose and you will put in the required sacrifice but it has to be your own mountain, not of your parents or teachers.”
The ex-cricketer stated ‘focus’ as the second factor, “Because goals are of no use if you do not have the ability to stay focussed. You are growing up in India with so many opportunities that it is easy to get distracted.” Citing the example of trying to catch many rabbits in a pen, Dravid urged the students to stay focussed on catching one. He said, “If things are not working, change your tactics but don’t give up on your goal.”
The third factor ‘patience’ was really impacting. He said, “My wife and I have built a new home with a lovely garden which houses lovely bamboo trees. I got reading on the Chinese bamboo and learned that the tree takes 5 years, 3 months to grow to its whole height of 80 feet. Yet, for the first 5 years, you only see a tiny green shoot, but in the next 90 days, it grows into a full-fledged tree. But in those first 60 months, it is growing its strong network of roots underground, to support the tree. In an era of instant gratification, we settle for shorter trees, but remember patience has its reward. These are your years of growing that strong network of roots but be sure when you finally achieve your success, people will call it “overnight success”. If only they knew of the Chinese bamboo!”
Earlier in the evening, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Sharada Mandir School and wife Dipti Salgaocar extended a warm welcome to Rahul Dravid and his family and presented them with floral bouquets and mementos.
Friday, May 25, 2012
"He would start at nine in the morning and bat for the entire day"
Source : Indian Express (article titled "Mr. Perfectionist, from start to finish")
A day after announcing his Test retirement, Rahul Dravid joined his Rajasthan Royals team mates at a six-day pre-season camp at the World Cricket Academy’s Institute of Sports, in the outskirts of Nagpur. By now, it had become one of Dravid’s regular haunts. From the time he had returned from the Test tour of Australia two months ago, Dravid had been visiting on and off to train for the IPL.
“One day he would ask only for left-arm spinners and get them to bowl over the wicket. The next day they would bowl around the wicket to him, and he would do the same,” says Zubin Bharucha, technical director, Rajasthan Royals. “Rahul, being Rahul, wanted to experiment with everything. He would ask for outswing bowlers one day, then bowlers who would bowl slower ones from the back of their hand, and so on.”
Siddharth Trivedi must have bowled his fair share of deliveries to Dravid during those pre-season camps. “He would start at nine in the morning and bat for the entire day,” says the Royals seamer. “He would keep talking to us, asking us if there was any mistake we could spot in his batting.”
Beginning of the end
Dravid, 39, wasn’t even in the final chapter of his career. This was the start of the epilogue. And yet, one of the foremost Test batsmen of his era was looking to prove to himself that he could thrive as a batsman in the IPL, and fill the voluminous captaincy boots of Shane Warne.
Former India mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton, who is now employed with the Pune Warriors, isn’t surprised that Dravid was preparing as meticulously as ever even after his international retirement. “Having worked very closely with Rahul and having seen him from close quarters, I can tell you that he is a consummate professional. There are no short-cuts involved with his cricket,” says Upton.
“This fierce will to compete is in their DNA. You put them on a table-tennis table, and they will be as competitive as anywhere else. You won’t see them fooling around.”
It’s clear that Dravid’s preparation paid off. With 462 runs, Dravid was the seventh-highest run scorer in the league phase. As a captain, however, he began the season under a certain amount of pressure, knowing that he would be compared, at every stage, to Warne.
“It’s difficult to compare them. Both are legends of the game,” says Trivedi, who has played for Rajasthan in all five seasons. “Warne would instill confidence in us during team talks. After that, it never felt as if we were bowling to Chris Gayle or any other big name player. Dravid motivates us just as much, but in his own way. He is very calm, and knows how to get the best out of his players.”
Deceptive demeanour
Dravid’s relaxed demeanour on the field, moreover, would suggest that he has more in common with his predecessor than most would have imagined. Off the field, there has been further evidence contradicting Dravid’s taciturn reputation, such as a ‘leaked’ video of a Royals bonding session, in which all the players are caught shaking a leg, their skipper as enthusiastically as anyone.
“Having retired from international cricket, there is less pressure on him,” says Bharucha. “But he’s always had a lighter side to his personality. It’s just that it seems to be on display more now than it used to be earlier.” Apart from this, Bharucha zeroes in on another key quality, his sense of balance.
“He’s the same regardless of whether we are winning or losing. And that kind of balance is infectious,” he says. “Some legends have this air about them, which at times puts a lot of pressure on the younger players to perform. Rahul is different. He speaks with everyone, and even the juniors enjoy a great level of comfort with him.”
One of the younger lot to have benefited from this is Rahane, who has basked in the company of his childhood idol at the crease and in the dressing room. “Rahul bhai is not like Shane Warne, who will always come up with surprises. Instead, he keeps things as simple as possible, whether it’s his batting or when he’s trying to give you instructions,” says Rahane.
It’s unclear whether Dravid will continue to play on next season — his latest statements indicate that Rajasthan are on the lookout for a younger opener to partner Rahane. But even if his playing days are over, the Royals would surely want to retain Dravid’s presence in their dugout.
A day after announcing his Test retirement, Rahul Dravid joined his Rajasthan Royals team mates at a six-day pre-season camp at the World Cricket Academy’s Institute of Sports, in the outskirts of Nagpur. By now, it had become one of Dravid’s regular haunts. From the time he had returned from the Test tour of Australia two months ago, Dravid had been visiting on and off to train for the IPL.
“One day he would ask only for left-arm spinners and get them to bowl over the wicket. The next day they would bowl around the wicket to him, and he would do the same,” says Zubin Bharucha, technical director, Rajasthan Royals. “Rahul, being Rahul, wanted to experiment with everything. He would ask for outswing bowlers one day, then bowlers who would bowl slower ones from the back of their hand, and so on.”
Siddharth Trivedi must have bowled his fair share of deliveries to Dravid during those pre-season camps. “He would start at nine in the morning and bat for the entire day,” says the Royals seamer. “He would keep talking to us, asking us if there was any mistake we could spot in his batting.”
Beginning of the end
Dravid, 39, wasn’t even in the final chapter of his career. This was the start of the epilogue. And yet, one of the foremost Test batsmen of his era was looking to prove to himself that he could thrive as a batsman in the IPL, and fill the voluminous captaincy boots of Shane Warne.
Former India mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton, who is now employed with the Pune Warriors, isn’t surprised that Dravid was preparing as meticulously as ever even after his international retirement. “Having worked very closely with Rahul and having seen him from close quarters, I can tell you that he is a consummate professional. There are no short-cuts involved with his cricket,” says Upton.
“This fierce will to compete is in their DNA. You put them on a table-tennis table, and they will be as competitive as anywhere else. You won’t see them fooling around.”
“It’s difficult to compare them. Both are legends of the game,” says Trivedi, who has played for Rajasthan in all five seasons. “Warne would instill confidence in us during team talks. After that, it never felt as if we were bowling to Chris Gayle or any other big name player. Dravid motivates us just as much, but in his own way. He is very calm, and knows how to get the best out of his players.”
Deceptive demeanour
Dravid’s relaxed demeanour on the field, moreover, would suggest that he has more in common with his predecessor than most would have imagined. Off the field, there has been further evidence contradicting Dravid’s taciturn reputation, such as a ‘leaked’ video of a Royals bonding session, in which all the players are caught shaking a leg, their skipper as enthusiastically as anyone.
“Having retired from international cricket, there is less pressure on him,” says Bharucha. “But he’s always had a lighter side to his personality. It’s just that it seems to be on display more now than it used to be earlier.” Apart from this, Bharucha zeroes in on another key quality, his sense of balance.
“He’s the same regardless of whether we are winning or losing. And that kind of balance is infectious,” he says. “Some legends have this air about them, which at times puts a lot of pressure on the younger players to perform. Rahul is different. He speaks with everyone, and even the juniors enjoy a great level of comfort with him.”
One of the younger lot to have benefited from this is Rahane, who has basked in the company of his childhood idol at the crease and in the dressing room. “Rahul bhai is not like Shane Warne, who will always come up with surprises. Instead, he keeps things as simple as possible, whether it’s his batting or when he’s trying to give you instructions,” says Rahane.
It’s unclear whether Dravid will continue to play on next season — his latest statements indicate that Rajasthan are on the lookout for a younger opener to partner Rahane. But even if his playing days are over, the Royals would surely want to retain Dravid’s presence in their dugout.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
What has the GenNext learnt from Rahul Dravid?
Cheteshwar Pujara
I was 20 or 21. He was playing for Karnataka against Saurashtra in
Rajkot. He is one of my idols. I just wanted to ask him that if I wanted
to play at the international level, what should I do and how can I
improve myself.
He was very happy to talk to me. He was very friendly. He told me he had
heard a lot about me scoring in domestic cricket and he was really
impressed with that. When you hear from a big player, that he has heard a
bit about you, it is very nice. After that, he gave me a few tips about
succeeding at the top level.
If it is similar to your game, it is easier to communicate and even he
can understand my mentality, what I am thinking and how I can improve.
Because he has gone through this stage many years back, he can
understand a youngster's psychology.
(One thing you would take from Dravid's game) I would say his positive
attitude towards the game. A bowler has to work really hard to get his
wicket. That quality I admire a lot because even I don't like to get
out.
In the Durban Test,
I played a pull shot and got out. He saw that and when I asked him what
went wrong, he told me to play my normal game. He had seen me play in
the Ranji Trophy and said that normally you don't play those kinds of
shots. "It is not your strength. You should play to your strength. The
ball was skidding off the wicket and the bounce was so high you can't
control the shot."
Ajinkya Rahane
He showed us how important your wicket is and to value it always.
Another thing about him is how humble he always is on and off the field.
That quality really stands out.
I had made 165 and 98 in the 2008-09 Duleep Trophy final in Chennai
against South Zone. He [Dravid] was part of that side. I wanted to go
and ask him about my batting but was feeling hesitant about approaching
such a big player. Instead, he himself came up to me and told me that I
was doing well and needed to continue playing the way I had been
playing.
He also told me that I belonged to the international level and would
play for India soon. He asked me to develop more confidence in my
batting which is so important at the highest level. To have my idol, who
I had grown up watching, reposing so much faith in me was a huge thing.
I have had the privilege of sharing two dressing rooms with him - India
and Rajasthan Royals.
Abhinav Mukund
He is a very, very meticulous man. He is very careful about all the
cricketing gear in his kit bag. It is all in order. It is never out of
place. I saw it when I started playing alongside Dravid. He was just
next to me and you could see all the pairs of gloves arranged neatly in
one row. You could see the bats in one corner. You would never see
things out of place. He is a man of order, I think. He is known for his
professionalism and his ethics so it comes alongside his character.
There was one game where the ball flicked his shoelaces and he got out
in England. You could notice the next day that he had changed his
shoelaces and tucked them in deep. When you say that the man leaves
nothing to chance, that is the biggest example of that.
He has definitely been very approachable. He is known to be a very quiet
man but once you approach him, once you start talking to him, he keeps
talking to you.
[One thing you would take from Dravid's game] Temperament. Ability to
fight it out in the middle. Ability to prove to himself and to others
that he can do it and he can do it outside the country. I think the
biggest example would have been the tours of West Indies and England
where he got four hundreds in seven Tests. The ability to prove people
wrong again and again.
Rohit Sharma
I've learnt quite a lot from him. The first thing is putting a price on
your wicket. Secondly, no matter what condition and situation you are
batting in, never give up. Just be there, feel the heat, feel the
pressure. That is when your true character shows. He showed us that.
That is the biggest thing I learnt from him.
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