People (Quotes) on Rahul Dravid

Sunil Gavaskar: He is the iron man of Indian cricket whose strength of character shines through in every move he makes on the field.

Ian Chappell: Team in trouble? Whom do you turn to? Rahul Dravid!

Greg Chappell: It is an indication of his ability, of his physical strength, his skills, his mental strength. From a mental point of view, he’s one of the toughest cricketers I’ve met.

Andrew Flintoff: His nickname is ‘The Wall’. He does take some getting past, doesn’t he? He is a great example of how to play. And the tempo of his innings, he doesn’t change at all. He loves batting and goes on and on.

Virender Sehwag: To me Rahul Dravid is the perfect cricketer  His technique is so good that he can be at ease on any sort of wicket and in any sort of conditions. His temperament and discipline allow him to adapt to different situations without discomfort.

Bishen Singh Bedi: There are three people who have made the biggest impact on Indian cricket — Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid.

Kapil Dev: He is truly the mainstay of the Indian batting. He is the best batsman of India in this era undoubtedly.

Yuvraj Singh: Looking at Rahul’s career and the way he’d started off is tremendous. He’s showed tremendous commitment and discipline. The way he sets an example on the field for all the boys (is admirable). It’s a great feeling to share the dressing room with him.

Kevin Pietersen: It’s fantastic to be on the same park as him, and that’s how I do it in terms of I like to watch players I respect, watch players who I feel privileged to be on the same field as. And I’ve seen how Rahul goes about his innings and that’s something I want to get myself involved with.

Geoffrey Boycott: There is a difference between being good and great and surely rahul is a great player. A wonderful player for India and playing when the chips are down is a true hallmark of a great cricketer.

Steve Waugh: Rahul is the kind of person who young cricketers can look up to; not only because of his success but also because of the way he conducts himself. His remarkable career is proof that nice guys don’t finish last.

Younis Khan:I was going through a rough patch and I happened to meet Dravid in the ICC knock-out trophy and he advised me,told me about batting and life and then the magic happened.Suddenly everything changed and i started playing well.

Dean Jones: Dravid, he never gets tired of scoring runs-does he? he can bat
in any position which very few players can. He just loves winning, Gee a great player to
have in any side.

Naseer Hussain: Rahul Dravid,what a wonderful cricketer and human being,a perfect ambassador for cricket in my opinion,such a tough cricketer. I remember him playing that classic innings at Headingley, He just frustrated our bowlers, all our plans went haywire, he deservedly got the man of the match. He is definitely among the best cricketers.

John Wright:“He’s a very tough competitor who in all different types of conditions has been our most consistent player in both Test and one-dayers. He’s smart, he’s a student of the game, he reads a lot. It surprises me when people say he is not passionate. No one applies himself with more passion.

Harsha Bhogle: “Longevity tells you much. It tells you about class and discipline, it means you have seen almost everything that life can throw at you and that you are still standing.It means you can play the delicate shots and the booming drives but it also means you can hang in there; go through periods without scoring runs, for not giving away your wicket is the summit to be climbed for the day. It means you can weather form and critics, both of whom can be fickle or vicious on their day, and live to tell the tale.

Ayaz Memon: What makes Dravid such a successful and special cricketer is his sense of commitment and self-belief, I believe. He has driving ambition, but also the vision of a common goal for the team. In that sense, he has been spectacularly unselfish. Speak to his teammates. Speak to his opponents. They all tell the same story.

Navjot Singh Sidhu: If he has to walk on broken glasses for his team, he will do that.

VVS Laxman: Rahul and I have played together right from our U-19 days. I have always seen him approach a match with the same intensity. His match preparation has been top- class. Rahul is always disciplined, professional and hard-working.He has always been a team man who puts the team ahead of self. He likes to lead by example. Once the leader is so committed, the team follows suit. Rahul is brilliant in communication skills, and he believes in talking straight. He tells each player what the team expects of him. He sets goals and throws challenges to each individual.

Brett Lee: The Wall, Mr Dependable and Mr Consistent are some of names Rahul Dravid has earned through his career – names that certainly would not endear him to fast bowlers like me. However, there are few better human beings than him on the circuit, and he is one of the game’s greatest ambassadors. If you don’t get along with Dravid, you’re struggling in life.

Anshuman Gaekwad: I never had to tell him anything. He always seemed to be in control of what he wanted to do.

Charu Sharma :For a long time, a lot of people have thought of Dravid as their hero for his cricketing abilities and the fact that he conducts himself with grace on and off the field and takes nothing for granted.

Ashok Mankad: Rahul respects the game, which is why we cricketers respect him. He doesnt play “games” with the game.

Peter O’ Toole: “Everyone praises Sachin Tendulkar. He may be a genius in his own right but in my book,Rahul Dravid is the artist. Dravid’s defence tactics, his strokes, his cuts, his grace are truly amazing. I’d like to meet the chap sometime and take my hat off to him.”

Andrew Leipus: Rahul loves to read biographies of sports personalities, not necessarily cricketers. He has always been interested in finding out how different sports personalities prepare themselves “mentally” before big events. I have never met anyone so focused. It is extremely difficult to get through to him even when he is reading a book or watching tv. I have to say, I pity his wife!

Christopher Martin-Jenkins, during the Oval Test: If a Martian were to land on earth now and be told that the best batsman in the world was playing in this match, he would think it was Rahul Dravid and not Sachin Tendulkar.

Sharda Ugra – Cricket Editor, India Today: He was not sure whether it would work but was willing to try & see if it helped the team. When it did and the results began to show, he was convinced. At no stage, and I mean this completely honestly, at NO stage did he complain about doing the extra work or complain or fear that keeping would cut his career short or that it would take too much of a toll.

Moin Khan: We had no illusions about Rahul Dravid. We always knew that even in the presence of Sachin Tendulkar and the others, he would be the difference between the two teams because of his ability to bat for hours & hours without feeling any pain. We were aware that Sachin and the rest would play strokes and provide an opportunity. But Rahul was a batsman who would tire us and set the platform for the others to score. He is a brilliant batsman and in my book deserves a permanent place as one of the top three batsmen in the world irrespective of his performance because the form is temporary and class permanent.

Danish Kaneria: He is so straight and negotiates almost every delivery with his bat, why does he need pads at all. I remember a defensive shot he played against Shoaib Akhtar. It was a pretty quick bouncing delivery and Dravid, on the back foot, still didn’t push his bat ahead of him. Usually, batsmen tend to stretch out their hands instinctively.

B. P. Bam – Sports Psychologist: “Fear is an emotion provided by nature for our protection. It has to be overcome and the challenge faced. Only two types of people are totally fearless. One. you find in the graveyard, the other in a mental asylum. Rahul is someone who takes decisions and accepts responsibility for the same. That is the hallmark of a champion. He is an ideal role model for anybody who wants to reach the top of his/her chosen profession.

Harbhajan Singh: I have seen many cricketers but no-one with as much concentration. He went from a good player to a great player. You learn a lot by watching him, realize why he is doing this or that. He’s a very good thinker of the game, talks very well on the game. Thinks ahead always – if we do this now, that may happen in the evening session. It’s a lot of fun discussing cricket with Dravid.

Mr. Prahlad Kakkar the Advt.Guru : I can say without a doubt that in my life if I met someone who is genuinely a Gentleman than its Rahul Dravid only.

Jeffrey Archer: Twenty20 is not cricket. It’s pure entertainment. VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid batting out a whole day against the Australians – now that is cricket.

Yasir Hameed: Sometimes you get so engrossed in watching batsmen like Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar that you lose focus on your job.

Wasim Jaffer: It looked like most of the IPL teams didn’t want me. That’s why I am so thankful to Dravid [thencaptain of the Bangalore Royal Challengers]. He understands the true value of a cricketer. He must have been tagged like this too, early in his career. So I was touched when he stepped up and took me in. Now it’s my responsibility to deliver for him.

Joy Bhattacharya, Kolkata Knight Riders’ cricket operations Director- During the Recent IPL Auction: What makes a player like Dravid so valuable is his exemplary attitude as a player, and as a human being, that makes him a role model for the next generation.

Suresh Raina: Rahul Dravid is my idol. I have been following him for the past 10 years. “Got my ODI and Test cap from Rahul Dravid, a true honour to finally make my test debut. It’s a dream come true ”

Matthew Hayden: All this going around is not aggression. If you want to see aggression on the cricket field, look into Rahul Dravid’s eyes.

Viv Richards: On a different note, I can’t help commenting that when it comes to style, I find Rahul Dravid most stylish. In boxing parlance, he gets his punches without anyone noticing it. At the end of it, his opponent is bruised!

Brian Lara: Rahul Dravid is one player I could go and watch. Come to think of it, if I wanted someone batting for my life, it would be Rahul.