presentation on rahul dravid

1. On 11th January 1973, in Indore a
Kannada couple Sharath and Pushpa
Dravid were gifted with a son, they
named him Rahul.

2.  Rahul’s interest in cricket began to blossom when he
was 10 years old. Like most boys his age, he began
to knock about with a rubber ball in the streets.
 But with his considerable talent, it did not take him
long to become an indispensable cricketer for his
school side.

3.  Dravid may have remained just an aspiring cricketer like
millions of others in India, but for the eagle eyes of Keki
Tarapore, the famous coach.
 Tarapore spotted Dravid at a cricket camp organized by
the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) when
he was just 11 years old, and a student at St. Joseph’s
School, Bangalore, his hometown.
 A young Rahul impressed Tarapore with his ability to
concentrate on batting for long periods, and also with
his determination to apply the right techniques.
 Over the years Tarapore has remained a true guide for
Dravid, helping him sail smoothly at every crucial
juncture in his cricketing career.

4.  The Dravid success story then began to unfold at great speed. He
played at the Under-17 and Under-19 circuit, then made his debut
in Ranji Trophy in 1991, while a second-year student at the St.
Joseph’s College of Commerce in Bangalore.
 It was a game against Maharashtra, and Dravid, batting at No. 7
stroked a masterful 82.
 In the very next match, against Bengal he got his maiden first class
hundred, a rock-solid 132, this time batting at No.6. The script of
his success story was turning out to be neat.

5.  Those watching Dravid play at the domestic level
realized here was Mr. Potential walking around in
cricket flannels.
 His yen for being a perfectionist technically, his
sound temperament, his ability to accumulate runs
with patience, all augured well for the future of
Indian cricket.
 And these qualities impressed the selectors.

6.  In 1996, Dravid got his hard earned test cap against England at
The Lord’s alongside Sourav Ganguly.
 It was a match both men will remember for different reasons.
Dravid because he missed a century by five runs, Ganguly
because he managed to get a ton.
 Since the stage was huge and the occasion so special, both
Dravid and Ganguly were catapulted, almost instantly, to
international stardom.
 Ever since they arrived together on the scene, comparisons have
not ceased.
 Today both of them are counted amongst the most important
contributors to Indian Cricket.

7.  With his success on the field and a photogenic face
major brands roped him up with modelling
assignments
 Amongst many others he became brand
ambassador for Pepsi, Kissan and Nippo.

8.  In 1998 Dravid was honoured with the
“Arjuna Award ” for his excellence in
the game.
 It was yet another proud moment for
him as well as for his parents who had
always stood by him.

9.  While Sourav continued to impress the selectors with his
ability to score runs at a fast pace Rahul although a
permanent member in the test team struggled to
maintain his place in the one day side, somewhere his
vast array of strokes were not giving him maximum
returns.
 His brilliant show in tests also didn’t impress the
selectors to the extent that they could give him some
more chances.
 Finally he got a chance to prove his metal in an ODI
series at home against Srilanka.
 He made full use of the opportunity and made 116 off
just 118 deliveries in the very first ODI

10.  The 1999 World Cup, was although , not one of the
most memorable editions to the mega event as far
as Indian team’s performance is concerned, but, it
gave Rahul the recognition of a top class ODI
batsman for sure.
 Emerging as the highest run getter with 461 runs
under his belly he made 2 centuries and 3 fifties.
 All of them scored at a steady pace and under
difficult conditions.

11.  Each time the main wicketkeeper in the side used to get
injured Dravid’s abilities to keep the wickets worked to the
team’s advantage.
 But in 2002 Ganguly(captain) and the team management
decided to keep him in the playing 11 as the main
wicketkeeper so that the team could play with 7 batsmen.
 Dravid took up the responsibility and performed well both
behind and in front of the wickets in that series.
 However, critics commented that Rahul was forced to accept
wicketkeeping to assure him of his place in the One day team
because of competition coming from young strokeplayers like
Yuvraj and Dinesh Mongia.

12.  After a disastrous tour of New Zealand, the Indian
team battled against all odds to emerge as the
runnerups.
 With Dravid making important contributions
whenever the top order seemed to fumble.
 In this edition of the World Cup he got runs at an
average of 63
 Teams throughout the world had now started to
recognize him as the backbone of the Indian middle
order.

13.  It was on 4th May 2003 that one of the most eligible
bachelors of that time in India decided to get
married.
 It was an arranged marriage with “Vijeta” a Doctor
by profession.
 Rahul now has a 9 year old son “Samit”

14.  In December 2003, Indian team went to the tour of Australia, a
team which was thrashing others in a manner West Indies
used to in the 70s and early 80s.
 The first test had ended in draw
 The second test at Adelaide proved to be a match no Dravid
fan will ever forget.
 He played a mammoth innings of 232 and backed it up with a
72 not out in the second innings
 India won a test for the first time in Australia thanks to the
heroics of “THE WALL”
 After the game Ganguly commented “Rahul played like
GOD”

15.  On the same tour in an ODI against Zimbabwe in
which he was the stand-in skipper Rahul got
involved in a ball tempering case while
unknowingly shining the ball with his chewing
gum.
 But because of his past clear record and his nice
behaviour on the field he escaped with a nominal
deduction in his match fee.

16.  Rahul made the whole country proud when he
bagged both “Cricketer of the year” and “Test
cricketer of the year” awards in 2004
 Adding another feather to his cap

17.  Because of Ganguly’s continuing failure with the bat and the
famous Chappel-Ganguly dispute Dravid was handed over
the captaincy of the team
 After initial successes in home series against England and
Srilanka Dravid was never able to bring the right balance in
the team and bind it as a group.
 As result the team suffered in the tour of West Indies and was
thrashed by South Africa
 Dravid’s men again failed in the 2007 World Cup in The
Windies
 After winning test series in England Dravid resigned from
captaincy giving the reason that it was affecting his batting.

18.  In the IPL in 2008 Dravid was the captain of the
Vijay Mallya owned Bangalore Royal Challengers
team which proved to be an underdog in the
tournament although he himself played well.
 Another controversy started when Mallya slammed
Dravid for his poor team selection and wrong on-field
decisions, but, Dravid again gave an example
of gentleman behavior and respect for the sport by
not saying a word in the media regarding the topic.

19.  After his poor show as the captain and in the IPL
Dravid’s performance with the bat has been a
matter of great concern for the team management
and for the man himself.
 He is no more a part of the ODI side and not
performing upto his standards in the tests as well.
 The long stretch of his failures is resulting in critics
considering this period of his career as “FALL of
the WALL”

21. DONE BY
V. ROHIT REDDY
8 CLASS