New Delhi:
Rahul Dravid nicknamed ‘The Wall’ for his stoic defence, has officially been inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame before the start of the fifth and final ODI between India and West Indies in Thiruvananthapuram.
Dravid, who scored 13288 runs at an average of 52 in Tests and 10889 ODI runs, was presented a plaque by former India skipper and another ICC Hall of Famer Sunil Gavaskar. However, this was not the only special occasion for the Karnataka right-hander.
November 1 is the birthday of VVS Laxman, one of India’s most stylish and elegant batsman. Dravid joined Laxman and Harbhajan Singh and all were in one frame for a photo. These three players had played a stellar role during India’s miraculous victory over Australia in the Eden Gardens Test of 2001.
Laxman hit 281, Dravid 180 and their 376-run stand helped India recover before Harbhajan picked up 15 wickets in the match to give India a famous come-from-behind victory. On the occasion of Laxman’s birthday, the feat was remembered by many.
A colossus
Dravid played a key role in several of India’s victories overseas at the start of the 21st century when India were led by Sourav Ganguly.
His 233 and 72* in Adelaide helped India win a Test in Australia for the first time in 22 years while he hammered 270 in the Rawalpindi Test to give India their first series win in Pakistan. Dravid became the first player to hit a century in all nine-Test playing nations.
Following his retirement, Dravid became coach of the India A and U-19 teams and helped the team win the 2018 U-19 World Cup which was held in New Zealand.
Earlier in the year, Dravid, along with Australian skipper Ricky Ponting and England’s Claire Taylor were inducted in the ICC Hall of Fame.
The ICC Hall of Fame began in 2009 with England’s Alec Bedser becoming the first inductee.
