Rahul Dravid

Dravid to play Bangladesh Premier league

2012-01-13T06:32:00.001+09:00

The BPL T20 League Logo

There are some strong rumours that RD might be playing at the inaugural Bangladesh Premier league also known as the BPL.The official facebook page of the Bangladesh Premier league says that Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman have showed interest to take part in the league and will be put in an auction to happen on January 19th.This might happen as Dravid would be free after the test series against Australia to take part in this tournament.This would be a great boost to the league as it doesn't have big names to it's credit.This would be a great warm up for Dravid before the IPL season as well.

Rahul Dravid the center of attention.

I wish this happens, all the best RD.We wish all the best to the BPL and hope this would bring new life to Bangladesh Cricket.

The BPL Promo

Update: The BCCI has restricted it's players from taking part in the Bangladesh Premier League.This means that Rahul Dravid or no other Indian player can be part of the BPL.

The Gambhir attitude !

2012-01-13T06:05:00.001+09:00

Well i was watching a few cricket videos on youtube when i noticed there were a lot of sledging videos which Gautham Gambhir was part of.Not that i am complaining, I just love his attitude.This was the attitude we had missed when Dada(Ganguly) retired.

Gautham Gambhir Sledge with Austrailia (He went on to make a double then)

Gambhir vs Shahid Afridi

Gautham Gambhir vs Kamran Akmal

Gauthi vs Andre Nel.

Well you gotta love his attitude and guts.

Happy 39th Birthday Rahul Dravid

2012-01-11T04:59:00.001+09:00

Rahul Sharad Dravid

We wish Rahul Dravid, who we people admire the most a very Happy 39th Birthday.May the coming year be better than 2011 and let us pray that he can get back to great form and ensure his place for at least two years.

So Happy Birthday RD,

We admire you !

We Respect you and

We love you !

All the best RD.

'Why Dravid is my favourite cricketer' - an Article

2012-01-07T05:05:00.003+09:00

Rahul Dravid

An article written by K77Sujith at theroar.com.A gem of an article if you admire Rahul Sharad Dravid.

"Coming from India, I am sure it surprises many that I haven’t mentioned my favourite cricketer as Sachin Tendulkar. Make no mistake, I am a huge fan of the Little Master and I hope there would never come a time when he decides to call it quits. However, there is one man who has always been in the shadows of Saurav Ganguly and Tendulkar, one who has quietly and religiously gone about his business – ‘The Wall’ Rahul Dravid. Despite being recognized as one of the most mentally strong cricketers the game has ever seen, he has always preferred to stay away from the spotlight and let his performances do the talking. Dravid, along with Ganguly, burst onto the scene with his brilliant batting efforts in a Test match at Lord’s against England in 1996. He exhibits brilliant batting technique, be it defence or offence and is supremely sincere and dedicated to his craft. Dravid has constantly improved his technique over the years and has adapted to the different modes of the game. Like the Little Master, Dravid is a highly disciplined cricketer who has seldom been embroiled in controversy. Dravid is a hard-as-nails gentleman who commands respect on the field, not just from his team-mates but from the opposition as well. Ask Allan Donald! "

Read the full article here - http://www.theroar.com.au/2011/06/30/why-rahul-dravid-is-my-favourite-cricketer/

Rahul Dravid and Ross Taylor at Tiger reserve (Rathnambore)

2012-01-07T05:00:00.000+09:00

Ross Taylor and Rahul Dravid

RD along with his friend and Rajasthan Royals team mate Ross Taylor visited the Rathnampore Tiger reserve last year and we bring you some photos.

Rahul Dravid and Vijeta Pendharkar Photos

2012-01-07T04:57:00.002+09:00

On a Picnic

Wedding day

at New Zealand

We bring you some snaps of Dravid with his better half Vijeta Pendharkar.A doctor by proffession and mother to two beautiful kids, Samit Dravid and Anvay Dravid.

Bowled 13 times over the past 12months ! What went wrong ?

2012-01-05T23:38:00.000+09:00

We all know he is a great player, but it's really sad to see RD getting out to similar bowl a lot of times in the past year and in the ongoing series.If we take the stats, Dravid has been bowled 11 times in 2011 and 4 times in this ongoing series, which includes one off a No-ball.We will show you some videos where he has got out similar manner

Ben Hilfenhaus in the Sydney test.

James Pattison in Boxing day test.
Peter Siddle in Boxing Day test

Fiedel Edwards in West Indies tour of India 2011

Well i compiled these videos not to show his weakness, but in hope that RD can correct his technique soon.I feel he should play this ball on his back foot rather than going on a front foot.

We all know he is going through a tough phase since Australia series with some dropped catches and below average scores.Instead of shouting out he is too old for the game, let us hope, pray and support him so that he would come out strong in the next test.As you all know 'Form is Temporary, But Class is permanent'.

Rahul Dravid's tips for youngsters

2011-12-28T22:50:00.001+09:00

Rahul Dravid's tips for Youngsters.

A pretty good advice from Rahul Dravid to all those aspiring cricket players of the country.'Be it batting,fielding or bowling one has to enjoy what he does' says the Wall.Watch it friends.

courtesy: Rajasthan Royals Official Youtube Page.

Dravid 68* on Day 2 of Boxing day at Stumps

2011-12-28T00:17:00.001+09:00

Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar at Melbourne on their 20th Century partnership stand.

Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar went on to make their 20th Century partnership stand at the second day of Boxing day test at Melbourne.The first to depart was Gautham Gambhir who fell on 3runs caught behind.Virender Sehwag took the attack to the Aussies and looked in fine form untill he fell to Pattison from an inside edge which went on to hit the stumps.Then came Sachin Tendulkar with everything set for his 100th ton, He too looked in fine form and started off with a Six, but fell at the last over of play to P.Siddle.Dravid had his luck as he got an inside edge which went on to hit the stumps of the bowling of Pattison of a No-ball.After Sachin's departure Ishant Sharma came on as a Night Watchman and was not out at Stumps.

Play will start tomorrow at 214/3 with Dravid and Ishant Sharma at the crease.India can bat till tea tomorrow and declare and hope to bowl out Australia before the final day and hope to chase the lead by Aussies.We wish the team and Rahul Dravid all the very best.

Photo Courtesy: Cricinfo

Boxing day test starts today

2011-12-26T06:40:00.003+09:00

The first test between India and Australia starts today, known to be as the Boxing day test as it is on the Boxing day after Christmas.We wish the Indian team all the very best for the test match.

Rahul Dravid and Partnerships - A must read article

2011-12-25T21:44:00.000+09:00

Rahul Dravid.

I happen to come across an Article about the Partnerships RD has been involved in at Cricketradius.com, Where they analyzed these facts

Cricket is a team game, and it is in the partnerships between two players that matches are won or lost. It could be the partnership between two batsmen, or two bowlers bowling in tandem, or a bowler-fielder partnership. Examples of great batting pairs could be Desmond Haynes and Gordon Greenidge, or Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar. If you think of bowling partnerships, the names of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis come to mind immediately. Shane Warne and Mark Taylor, Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid, and Glen McGrath and Ian Healy are some famous bowler-fielder pairs.

Read More at http://cricketradius.com/stats/rahul-dravid-and-partnerships-when-he-was-at-the-other-end

'Do not compare me to Virender Sehwag'

2011-12-25T21:38:00.001+09:00

Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh.

Rahul Dravid, the wall of indian cricket was quoted saying this.He said he could never score runs at a pace in which Sehwag does

I’m never going to be a Sehwag. That’s not me, but when I’m playing well and things are flowing for me, my scoring rate does improve. I feel in good position, I feel balanced, I am able to get fully forward, get fully back. I create more opportunities to score runs

as quoted by Sydney Morning Herald. Dravid meanwhile said that he drew inspiration from Sachin Tendulkar to come out from poor form.Sehwag we all agree is a great batsmen, but we would respect if people stop comparing Dravid and Sehwag,Dravid is a match winner in his own right.

Dravid's Bradman Oration Speech video

2011-12-18T17:41:00.000+09:00

Rahul Dravid at Bradman Oration delivering Speech

An Honest Rahul Dravid from an Interview

2011-12-15T05:07:00.003+09:00

Ever wondered why he is apt for the title 'Gentleman of Cricket' ?, Well here is your answer.Look how humble he is !.

Rahul Dravid interview with Star Plus.

Dravid's Speech at Bradman Oration

2011-12-15T05:02:00.000+09:00

Sir Donald Bradman Oration.

Rahul Dravid became the first non-australian player to have the honor giving the inaugural speech at Bradman Oration.And went on to give one of the most inspiring speeches of all time.We bring you the text version of Dravid's speech here.This is a must read for every cricket fan.He speaks on everything from the unity among Indian Players to the lack of crowds and differences between three formats of the game.

"Thank you for inviting me to deliver the Bradman Oration; the respect and the regard that came with the
invitation to speak tonight, is deeply appreciated.

I realise a very distinguished list of gentlemen have preceded me in the ten years that theBradman Oration has been held.

I know that this Oration is held every year to appreciate the life and career of Sir Don Bradman, a great Australian and a great cricketer.

I understand that I am supposed to speak about cricket and issues in the game – and I will.

Yet, but first before all else, I must say that I find myself humbled by the venue we find ourselves in.

Even though there is neither a pitch in sight, nor stumps or bat and balls, as a cricketer, I feel I stand on very sacred ground tonight.

When I was told that I would be speaking at the National War Memorial, I thought of how often and how
meaninglessly, the words 'war', 'battle', 'fight' are used to describe cricket matches.

Yes, we cricketers devote the better part of our adult lives to being prepared to perform for our countries, to persist and compete as intensely as we can – and more.

This building, however, recognises the men and women who lived out the words – war, battle, fight - for real and then gave it all up for their country, their lives left incomplete, futures extinguished.

The people of both our countries are often told that cricket is the one thing that brings Indians and Australians together.

That cricket is our single common denominator.

India's first Test series as a free country was played against Australia in November 1947, three months after our independence.

Yet the histories of our countries are linked together far more deeply than we think and further back in time than 1947.

We share something else other than cricket. Before they played the first Test match against each other, Indians and Australians fought wars together, on the same side.

In Gallipoli, where, along with the thousands of Australians, over 1300 Indians also lost their lives.

In World War II, there were Indian and Australian soldiers in El Alamein, North Africa, in the Syria-Lebanon
campaign, in Burma, in the battle for Singapore.

Before we were competitors, Indians and Australians were comrades. So it is only appropriate that we are here this evening at the Australian War Memorial, where along with celebrating cricket and cricketers, we remember the unknown soldiers of both nations.

It is however, incongruous, that I, an Indian, happen to be the first cricketer from outside Australia, invited to deliver the the Bradman Oration.

I don't say that only because Sir Don once scored a hundred before lunch at Lord's and my 100 at Lord's this year took almost an entire day.

But more seriously, Sir Don played just five Tests against India; that was in the first India-Australia series in 1947-48, which was to be his last season at home. He didn't even play in India, and remains the most venerated cricketer in India not to have played there.

We know that he set foot in India though, in May 1953, when on his way to England to report on the Ashes for an English newspaper, his plane stopped in Calcutta airport. There were said to be close to a 1000 people waiting to greet him; as you know, he was a very private person and so got into an army jeep and rushed into a barricaded building, annoyed with the airline for having 'breached confidentiality.'That was all Indians of the time saw of Bradman who remains a mythical figure.

For one generation of fans in my country, those who grew up in the 1930s, when India was still under British rule, Bradman represented a cricketing excellence that belonged to somewhere outside England. To a country taking its first steps in Test cricket, that meant something.

His success against England at that time was thought of as our personal success. He was striking one for all of us ruled by the common enemy. Or as your country has so poetically called them, the Poms.

There are two stories that I thought I should bring to your notice. On June 28, 1930, the day Bradman scored 254 at Lord's against England, was also the day Jawaharlal Nehru was arrested by the police. Nehru was, at the time, one of the most prominent leaders of the Indian independence movement and later, independent India's first Prime Minister. The coincidence of the two events, was noted by a young boy KN Prabhu, who was both nationalist, cricket fan and later became independent India's foremost cricket writer. In the 30s, as Nehru went in and out of jail, Bradman went after the England bowling and for K N Prabhu, became a kind of avenging angel.

There's another story I've heard about the day in 1933, when the news reached India that Bradman's record for the highest Test score of 334 had been broken by Wally Hammond. As much as we love our records, they say some Indian fans at the time were not exactly happy.

Now, there’s a tale that a few even wanted to wear black bands to mourn the fact that this precious record that belonged to Australia – and by extension, us – had gone back. To an Englishman. We will never know if this is true, if black bands were ever worn, but as journalists sometimes tell me, why let facts get in the way of a good story.

My own link with Bradman was much like that of most other Indians – through history books, some old video footage and his wise words. About leaving the game better than you found it. About playing it positively, as Bradman, then a selector, told Richie Benaud before the 1960-61 West Indies tour ofAustralia. Of sending a right message out from cricket to its public. Of players being temporary trustees of a great game.

While there may be very little similarity in our records or our strike rates or our fielding – and I can say this only today in front of all of you – I am actually pleased that I share something very important with Sir Don.

He was, primarily, like me, a No.3 batsman. It is a tough, tough job.

We're the ones who make life easier for the kings of batting, the middle order that follows us. Bradman did that with a bit more success and style than I did. He dominated bowling attacks and put bums on seats ,if i bat for any length of time I am more likely to bore people to sleep.Still, it is nice to have batted for a long time in a position, whose benchmark is, in fact, the benchmark for batsmanship itself.

Before he retired from public life in his 80s, I do know that Bradman watched Sunil Gavaskar's generation play series in Australia. I remember the excitement that went through Indian cricket when we heard the news that Bradman had seen Sachin Tendulkar bat on TV and thought he batted like him. It was more than mere approval, it was as if The great don had finally, passed on his torch. Not to an Aussie or an Englishman or a West Indian. But to one of our own.

One of the things, Bradman said has stayed in my mind. That the finest of athletes had, along with skill, a few more essential qualities: to conduct their life with dignity, with integrity, with courage and modesty. All this he believed, were totally compatible with pride, ambition, determination and competitiveness. Maybe those words should be put up in cricket dressing rooms all over the world.

As all of you know, Don Bradman passed away on February 25, 2001, two days before the India v Australia series was to begin in Mumbai.

Whenever an important figure in cricket leaves us, cricket's global community pauses in the midst of contests and debates, to remember what he represented of us, what he stood for and Bradman was the pinnacle. The standard against which all Test batsmen must take guard.

The series that followed two days after Bradman's death later went on to become what many believe was one of the greatest in cricket. It is a series, I'd like to believe, he would have enjoyed following.

A fierce contest between bat and ball went down to the final session of the final day of the final Test. Between an Australian team who had risen to their most imposing powers and a young Indian team determined to rewrite some chapters of its own history.

The 2001 series contained high-quality cricket from both sides and had a deep impact on the careers of those who played a part in it. The Australians were near unbeatable in the first half of the new decade, both home and away.

As others floundered against them, India became the only team that competed with them on even terms.

India kept answering questions put to them by the Australians and asking a few themselves. The quality demanded of those contests, sometimes acrimonious, sometimes uplifting, made us, the Indian team, grow and rise. As individuals, we were asked to play to the absolute outer limits of our capabilities and we often extended them.

Now, whenever India and Australia meet, there is expectation and anticipation – and as we get into the next two months of the Border Gavaskar Trophy, players on both sides will want to deliver their best.

When we toured in 2007-08, I thought it was going to be my last tour of Australia. The Australians thought it was going to be the last time they would be seeing Sachin Tendulkar on their shores. He received warm standing ovations from wonderful crowds all around the country.

Well, like a few, creaking Terminators, we're back.

Older, wiser and I hope improved.

The Australian public will want to stand up to send Sachin off all over again this time. But I must warn you, given how he’s been playing these days, there are no guarantees about final goodbyes.

In all seriousness, though, the cricket world is going to stop and watch Australia and India. It is Australia's first chance to defend their supremacy at home following defeat in the 2010 Ashes and a drawn series against New Zealand. It is India's opportunity to prove that the defeat to England in the summer was an aberration that we will bounce back from.

If both teams look back to their last 2007-08 series in Australia, they will know that they should have done things a little differently in the Sydney Test. But I think both sides have moved on from there; we've played each other twice in India already and relations between the two teams are much better than they have been as far as I can remember.

Thanks to the IPL, Indians and Australians have even shared dressing rooms. Shane Watson's involvement in Rajasthan, Mike Hussey's role with Chennai to mention a few, are greatly appreciated back home.

And even Shane Warne likes India now. I really enjoyed played alongside him at Rajasthan last season and can confidently report to you that he is not eating imported baked beans any more.

In fact,looking at him, it seems, he is not eating anything.

It is often said that cricketers are ambassadors for their country; when there's a match to be won, sometimes we think that is an unreasonable demand. After all, what would career diplomats do if the result of a Test series depended on them, say, walking? But, as ties between India and Australia have strengthened and our contests have become more frequent, we realise that as Indian players, we stand for a vast, varied, often unfathomable and endlessly fascinating country.

At the moment, to much of the outside world, Indian cricket represents only two things – money and power. Yes, that aspect of Indian cricket is a part of the whole, but it is not the complete picture.

As a player, as a proud and privileged member of the Indian cricket team, I want to say that, this one-dimensional, often cliched image relentlessly repeated, is not what Indian cricket is really all about.

I cannot take all of you into the towns and villages our players come from, and introduce you to their families, teachers, coaches, mentors and teammates who made them international cricketers.

I cannot take all of you here to India to show you the belief, struggle, effort and sacrifice from hundreds of people that runs through our game.

As I stand here today, it is important for me to bring Indian cricket and its own remarkable story to you. I believe it is very necessary that cricketing nations try to find out about each other, try to understand each other and the different role cricket plays in different countries, because ours is, eventually, a very small world.

In India, cricket is a buzzing, humming, living entity going through a most remarkable time, like no other in our cricketing history.

In this last decade, the Indian team represents more than ever before, the country we come from – of people from vastly different cultures, who speak different languages, follow different religions, belong to all classes of society.

I went around our dressing room to work out how many languages could be spoken in there and the number I have arrived at is: 15 including Shona and Akrikaans.

Most foreign captains, I think, would baulk at the idea. But, when I led India, I enjoyed it, I marvelled at the range of difference and the ability of people from so many different backgrounds to share a dressing room, to accept, accommodate and respect that difference. In a world growing more insular, that is a precious quality to acquire, because it stays for life and helps you understand people better, understand the significance of the other .

Let me tell you one of my favourite stories from my under-19 days, when the India under-19 team played a match against the New Zealand junior team.

We had two bowlers in the team, one from the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh – – he spoke only Hindi, which is usually a link language for players from all over India, ahead even of English.

It should have been alright, except the other bowler came from Kerala, in the deep south, and he spoke only the state's regional language, Malayalam. Now even that should have been okay as they were both bowlers and could bowl simultaneous spells.

Yet in one game, they happened to come together at the crease. In the dressing room, we were in splits, wondering how they were going to manage the business of a partnership, calling for runs or sharing the strike.

Neither man could understand a word of what the other was saying and they were batting together. This could only happen in Indian cricket. Except that these two guys came up with a 100-run partnership. Their common language was cricket and that worked out just fine.

The everyday richness of Indian cricket lies right there, not in the news you hear about million-dollar deals and television rights. When I look back over the 25 years I've spent in cricket, I realise two things. First, rather alarmingly, that I am the oldest man in the game, older to even Sachin by three months.

More importantly, I realise that Indian cricket actually reflects our country's own growth story during this time. Cricket is so much a part of our national fabric that as India – its economy, society and popular culture – transformed itself, so did our most-loved sport.

As players we are appreciative beneficiaries of the financial strength of Indian cricket, but we are more than just mascots of that economic power.

The caricature often made of Indian cricket and its cricketers in the rest of the world is that we are pampered superstars. Overpaid, underworked, treated like a cross between royalty and rock stars.

Yes, the Indian team has an enormous, emotional following and we do need security when we get around the country as a group. It is also where we make it a point to always try and conduct ourself with composure and dignity. On tour, I must point out, we don't attack fans or do drugs or get into drunken theatrics. And at home, despite what some of you may have heard, we don't live in mansions with swimming pools.

The news about the money may well overpower all else, but along with it, our cricket is full of stories the outside world does not see.

Television rights generated around Indian cricket, are much talked about. Let me tell you what the television - around those much sought-after rights - has done to our game.

A sport that was largely played and patronised by princes and businessmen in traditional urban centres, cities like Bombay, Bangalore, Chennai, Baroda, Hyderabad, Delhi – has begun to pull in cricketers from everywhere.

As the earnings from Indian cricket have grown, in the past 2 decades, mainly thru television,the BCCI has spread revenues to various pockets in the country and improved where we play.the field is now spread wider than it ever has been,the ground covered by Indian cricket, has shifted .

27 teams compete in our national championship the Ranji Trophy.last season, Rajasthan, a state best known for it's palaces ,fortresses and tourism won the Ranji Trophy title for the first time in it's history .The national one day championship also had a first time winner,in the newly formed state of Jharkand where our captain MS Dhoni comes from .

The growth and scale of cricket on our television was the engine of this population shift. Like Bradman was the boy from Bowral, a stream of Indian cricketers now come from what you could call India's outback.

Zaheer Khan belongs to the Maharashtra heartland, from a town that didn't have even one proper turf wicket. He could have been an instrumentation engineer but was drawn to cricket through TV and modelled his bowling by practicing in front of the mirror on his cupboard at home, and first bowled with a proper cricket ball at the age of 17.

One day out of nowhere, a boy from a village in Gujarat turned up as India's fastest bowler. After Munaf Patel made his debut for India, the road from the nearest railway station to his village had to be improved because journalists and TV crews from the cities kept landing up there.

We are delighted that Umesh Yadav didn't become a policeman like he was planning and turned to cricket instead. He is the first cricketer from the Central Indian first-class team of Vidarbha to play Test cricket.

Virender Sehwag, it shouldn't surprise, you belongs to the wild west just outside Delhi. He had be enrolled in a college which had a good cricket programme and travel 84kms every day by bus to get to practice and matches.

Every player in this room wearing an India blazer has a story like this.

Here, ladies and gentlemen, is the heart and soul of Indian cricket.

Playing for India completely changes our lives. The game has given us a chance to pay back our debt to all those who gave of their time, energy, resources for us to be better cricketers: we can build new homes for our parents, get out siblings married off in style, give our families very comfortable lives.

The Indian cricket team is in fact, India itself, in microcosm. A sport that was played first by princes, then their subordinates, then the urban elite, is now a sport played by all of India.

Cricket, as my two under-19 teammates proved, is India's most widely-spoken language. Even Indian cinema has its regional favourites; a movie star in the south may not be popular in the north. But a cricketer? Loved everywhere.

It is, also, a very tough environment to grow up in - criticism can be severe, responses to victory and defeat extreme, there are invasions of privacy and stones have been thrown at our homes after some defeats.

It takes time getting used to, extreme reactions can fill us with anger. But every cricketer realises at some stage of his career, that the Indian cricket fan is best understood by remembering the sentiment of the majority, not the actions of a minority.

One of the things that has always lifted me as a player was looking out of the team bus when we travelled
somewhere in India. When people see the Indian bus going by, see some of us sitting with our curtains drawn back, it always amazes me how much they light up.

There is an instantaneous smile, directed not just at the player they see – but at the game that we play that, for whatever reason, means something to people's lives. Win or lose, the man on the street will smile and give you a wave.

After India won the World Cup this year, our players were not congratulated as much as they were thanked by people they ran into. “You have given us everything,” they were told, “all of us have won.”

Cricket in India now stands not just for sport, but possibility, hope, opportunities.

On our way to the Indian team, we know of so many of our teammates some of whom may have been equally or more talented than those sitting here, who missed out. When I started out, for a young Indian, cricket was the ultimate gamble - all or nothing, no safety nets. No second chances for those without an education or a college degree or second careers. Indian cricket’s wealth now means a wider pool of well paid cricketers even at first-class level.

For those of us who make it to the Indian team, cricket is not merely our livelihood, it is a gift we have been given. Without the game, we would just be average people leading average lives. As Indian cricketers, our sport has given us the chance do something worthwhile with our lives. How many people could say that?

This is the time Indian cricket should be flowering; we are the world champions in the short game, and over the space of the next 12 months should be involved in a tight contest with Australia, South Africa and England to determine which one of us are the world's strongest Test team.

Yet I believe this is also a time for introspection within our game, not only in India,but all over the world.we have been given some alerts and responding to them quickly is the smart thing to do.

I was surprised a few months ago to see the lack of crowds in an ODI series featuring India. By that I don't mean the lack of full houses, I think it was the sight of empty stands I found somewhat alarming.

India played its first one-day international at home in November 1981 when I was nine. Between then and now India have played 227 ODIs at home; the October five-match series against England, was the first time that the grounds have not been full for an ODI featuring the Indian team.

In the summer of 1998, I played in a one-dayer against Kenya in Kolkata and the Eden Gardens was full. Our next game was held in the 48-degree heat of Gwalior and the stands were heaving.

The October series against England was the first one at home after India's World Cup win. It was called the 'revenge' series meant to wipe away the memory of a forgettable tour of England. India kept winning every game, and yet the stands did not fill up. Five days after a 5-0 victory, 95,000 turned up to watch the India's first Formula One race.

A few weeks later, I played in a Test match against the West Indies in Calcutta, in front of what was the lowest turn out in Eden Gardens’ history. Yes we still wanted to win and our intensity did not dip. But at the end of the day, we are performers, entertainers and we love an audience. The audience amplifies everything you are doing, the bigger the crowd the bigger the occasion, its magnitude, its emotion. When I think about the Eden Gardens crowds this year, I wonder what the famous Calcutta Test of 2001 would have felt like with 50,000 people less watching us.

Australia and South Africa ,played an exiting and thrilling test series recently and two great test matches produced some fantastic performances from players of both teams ,but was sadly played in front of sparse crowds.

It is not the numbers Test players need, it is the atmosphere of a Test that every player wants to revel in and draw energy from; my first reaction to the lack of crowds for cricket was that there had been a lot of cricket and so perhaps, a certain amount of spectator-fatigue. That is too simplistic a view; it's the easy thing to say but might not be the only thing.

The India v England ODI series had no context, because the two countries had played each other in four Tests and five ODIs just a few weeks before. When India and the West Indies played ODIs a month afer that, the grounds were full but this time matches were played in smaller venues that didn’t host too much international cricket. Maybe our clues are all there and we must remain vigilant.

Unlike Australia or England, Indian cricket has never had to compete with other sports for a share of revenues, mindspace or crowd attendance at international matches.

The lack of crowds may not directly impact on revenues or how important the sport is to Indians, but we do need to accept that there has definitely been a change in temperature over, I think, the last two years.

Whatever the reasons are – maybe it is too much cricket or too little by way of comfort for spectators. The fan has sent us a message and we must listen. This is not mere sentimentality. Empty stands do not make for good television. Bad television can lead to a fall in ratings, the fall in ratings will be felt by media planners and advertisers' looking elsewhere.

If that happens, it is hard to see television rights around cricket being as sought after as they have always been in the last 15 years. And where does that leave everyone?

I'm not trying to be an economist or doomsday prophet – this is just how I see it.

Let us not be so satisfied with the present, with deals and finances in hand that we get blindsided. Everything that has given cricket its power and influence in the world of sports has started from that fan in the stadium. They deserve our respect and let us not take them for granted.

Disrespecting fans is disrespecting the game. The fans have stood by our game through everything. When we play, we need to think of them. As players, the balance between competitiveness and fairness can be tough but it must be found.If we stand up for the game's basic decencies, it will be far easier to tackle its bigger dangers – whether it is finding short cuts to easy money or being lured by the scourge of spot-fixing and contemplating any involvement with the betting industry.

Cricket's financial success means it will face threats from outside the game and keep facing them. The last two decades have proved this over and over again. The internet and modern technology may just end up being a step ahead of every anti-corruption regulation in place in the game. As players, the one way we can stay ahead for the game, is if we are willing to be monitored and regulated closely.

Even if it means giving up a little bit of freedom of movement and privacy.

If it means undergoing dope tests, let us never say no.

If it means undergoing lie-detector tests, let us understand the technology, what purpose it serves and accept it.

Now lie-detectors are by no means perfect but they could actually help the innocent clear their names.

Similarly, we should not object to having our finances scrutinised if that is what is required.

When the first anti-corruption measures were put into place, we did moan a little bit about being accredited and depositing our cell phones with the manager. But now, we must treat it like we do airport security because we know it is for our own good and our own security.

Players should be ready to give up a little personal space and personal comfort for this game which has given us so much. If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.

Other sports have borrowed from cricket's anti-corruption measures to set up their own ethical governance programmes and we must take pride in belonging to a sport that is professional and progressive.

One of the biggest challenges that the game must respond today, I believe, is charting out a clear roadmap for the three formats.

We now realise that the sport's three formats cannot be played in equal numbers – that will only throw scheduling and the true development of players completely off gear.

There is a place for all three formats, though, we are the only sport I can think of which has three versions. Cricket must treasure this originality. These three versions require different skills, skills that have evolved, grown, changed over the last four decades, one impacting on the other.

Test cricket is the gold standard, it is the form the players want to play.

The 50-over game is the one that had kept cricket's revenues alive for more than three decades now.

Twenty20 has come upon us and it is the format people, the fans want to see.

Cricket must find a middle path, it must scale down this mad merry-go-round that teams and players find themselves in: heading off for two-Test tours and seven-match ODI series with a few Twenty20s thrown in.

Test cricket deserves to be protected, it is what the world's best know they will to be judged by.

Where I come from, nation versus nation is what got people interested in cricket in the first place. When I hear the news that a country is playing without some of its best players, I always wonder, what do their fans think?

People may not be able to turn up to watch Test cricket but everyone follows the scores. We may not fill 65,000 capacity stadiums for Test matches, but we must actively fight to get as many as we can in, to create a Test match environment that the players and the fans feed off. Anything but the sight of Tests played on empty grounds.

For that, we have got to play Test cricket that people can watch. I don't think day-night Tests or a Test championship should be dismissed.

In March of last year I played a day-night first-class game in Abu Dhabi for the MCC – and my experience from that was that day-night Tests is an idea seriously worth exploring.

There may be some challenges in places where there is dew but the visibility and durability of the pink cricket ball was not an issue.

Similarly, a Test championship with every team and player driving themselves to be winners of a sought after title seems like it would have a context to every game.

Keeping Test's alive, may mean different innovations in different countries – maybe taking it to smaller cities, playing it in grounds with smaller capacities like New Zealand has thought of doing, maybe reviving some old venues in the West Indies, like the old Recreation Ground in Antigua.

When I was around seven years old, I remember my father taking a Friday off so that we could watch three days of Test cricket together. On occasions he couldn't, I would accompany one of his friends, just to soak in a day of Test cricket and watch the drama slowly unfold.

What we have to do is find a way to ensure that Test matches fit into 21st century life, through timing,
environments, the venues they are held in. I am still convinced it can be done, even in our fast-moving world with a short attention span.

We will often get told that Test matches don't make financial sense, but no one ever fell love with Test cricket because they wanted to be a businessman. Not everything of value comes at a price.

There is a proposal doing the rounds, about scrapping the 50-over game completely . I am not sure I agree with that – I certainly know that the 50-over game helped us innovate strokes in our batting which we were then able to take into Test matches. We all know that the 50-over game has been responsible for improving fielding standards all over the world.

The future may well lie in playing one-day internationals centered around ICC events, like the Champions Trophy and the World Cups. This would ensure that all 50-over matches would build up for those tournaments.

That will cut back the number of one-day internationals played every year but at least those matches will have a context. Since about, I think 1985, people have been saying that there is too much meaningless one-day cricket.

Maybe it's finally time to do something about it.

The Twenty20 game as we know has as many critics as it has supporters in the public. Given that an acceptable strike rate in T20 these days is about 120, I should probably complain about it the most. The crowd and revenue numbers though, tell us that if we don't handle Twenty20 correctly, we may well have more and more private players stepping in to offer not just slices of pie, but maybe even bigger pies themselves.

So I’ll re-iterate what I’ve just said very quickly because balancing three formats is important:

We have Test cricket like we have always had, nation versus nation, but carefully scheduled to attract crowds and planned fairly so that every Test playing country get its fair share of Tests.and playing for a championship or a cup not just a ranking .

The 50-overs format focused around on fewer, significant multi-nation ICC events like the Champions trophy and the World cup. In the four-year cycle between World Cups, plan the ODI calendar and devise rankings around these few important events. Anything makes more sense than 7-match ODI series.

The best role for Twenty20 is as a domestic competition through official leagues which will make it financially attractive for cricketers. That could also keep cricket viable in countries where it fights for space and attention.

Because the game is bigger than us all, we must think way ahead of how it stands today.

Where do we want it to be in the year 2020? Or say in 2027, when it will be 150 years since the first Test match was played. If you think about it, cricket has been with us longer than the modern motor car, it existed before modern air travel took off.

As much as cricket's revenues are important to its growth, its traditions and its vibrancy are a necessary part of its progress in the future. We shouldn't let either go because we played too much of one format and too little of the other.

Professionalism has given cricketers of my generation privileged lives, and we know it, even though often you may often hear us whining about burn-out and travel and the lack of recovery time.

Whenever we begin to get into that mindset, it's good to remember a piece of Sachin's conversation with Bradman. Sachin told us that he had asked Sir Don how he had mentally prepared for big games, what his routines were.Sir Don said, that well, before a game, he would go to work and after the game,go back to work. Whenever a cricketer feels a whinge, coming on, that would be good to remember.

Before I conclude, I also want to talk briefly about an experience I have often had over the course of my career. It is not to do with individuals or incidents, but one I believe is important to share.

I have sometimes found myself in the middle of a big game, standing at slip or even at the non-strikers end and suddenly realised that everything else has vanished.

At that moment, all that exists is the contest and the very real sense of the joy that comes from playing the game.

It is an almost meditative experience where you reconnect with the game just like you did years ago, when you first began. When you hit your first boundary, took the first catch, scored your first century, or were involved in a big victory.

It lasts for a very fleeting passage of time, but it is a very precious instant and every cricketer should hang on to it.

I know it is utterly fanciful to expect professional cricketers to play the game like amateurs; but the trick I believe is taking the spirit of the amateur – of discovery, of learning, of pure joy, of playing by the rules – into our profession.

Taking it to practice or play, even when there's an epidemic of white-line fever breaking out all over the field.

In every cricketer there lies a competitor who hates losing and yes, winning matters. But it is not the only thing that matters when you play cricket.

How it is played is as important for every member of every team because every game we play leaves a footprint in cricket's history. We must never forget that.

What we do as professionals is easily carried over into the amateur game, in every way – batting, bowling,
fielding, appealing, celebration, dissent, argument. In the players of 2027, we will see a reflection of this time and of ourselves and it had better not annoy or anguish us 50 year-olds.

As the game's custodians, it is important we are not tempted by the short-term gains of the backward step. We can be remembered for being the generation that could take the giant stride.

Thank you for the invitation to address all of you tonight and your attention."

Dravid, Laxman, and Sachin leaving for Australia soon

2011-12-02T03:06:00.001+09:00

India's Test match specialist's Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar will soon be leaving for Australia ahead of the tour to get adjusted to the conditions and the bounce in the Australian tracks.Meanwhile the India-West Indies ODI series would be happening at India.The first warmup match for the Indian team is all set to start on 15th December.The first test match would start from 26th december to 30th december.Ishant Sharma and Pragyan Ojha will also be leaving along with them.They are set to leave either on December 8th or on December 10th after the BCCI awards function.

Rahul Dravid's 13000th international test run

2011-11-29T07:43:00.001+09:00

'Toughest Batsmen to bowl to' - Fidel Edwards

2011-11-13T18:21:00.001+09:00

Rahul Dravid - The Wall

The 29 year old pacer who got Rahul Dravid out in the second innings with a beauty of an in-swinger said that RD is one of the toughest batsman to bowl to.This is his first series in India and said that it is really tough bowling here though he is enjoying playing in India.

He commented that

It's pretty hard bowling in these conditions... the tracks are low and slow.Against batsmen like Dravid ,Tendulkar and Laxman who know these conditions so well, it's very tough.

His comment on RD was

He's very good up front, very solid... it's hard to get him out.

We wish the West Indies team and F.Edwards the very best for the second test that starts tomorrow.

Second test against West Indies to start tomorrow and RD just 140 runs away from 13000 test runs

2011-11-13T18:13:00.001+09:00

Rahul Dravid

The second test against West Indies could see a new record being broken with Rahul Dravid nearing 13000 test runs and will be the second only Test Batsmen in history to achieve this amazing feat.Anyways we wish RD and the team all the very best to the second test match against West Indies.India will be high on confidence after the win in the first test match :)

Sachin Tendulkar on his connection with Rahul Dravid.

2011-11-10T05:12:00.000+09:00

Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar shares a smile.

On the third day of the just concluded 1st Test against West Indies, Sachin Tendulkar came became the first cricketer in Test History to reach 15000 runs.It was Rahul Dravid and Sachin batting on the opposite ends.Sachin after the day's play said on a interview that

I’m not sure what to say about getting to 15,000 runs (in Test cricket)... Feels nice for sure... My first thought was that Rahul (Dravid) had also been the non-striker when I’d got the 10,000th-run,

Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid

Sachin made his 10000th run also with Dravid at the other end that was back in 2005 at the Eden Gardens.Meanwhile Dravid recalled what he said to Sachin on that day at Eden.

Six years ago, Sachin had laughed when I’d said he should go for 15,000 Test runs... Today, I asked him to go for 20,000! He laughed yet again and I’d to tell him not to do so..

Anyway we wish Sachin Tendulkar all the best and also wish our RD who is nearing 13000 test runs. :)

India wins 1st Test match against West Indies at Feroz Sha Kotla stadium

2011-11-10T04:52:00.000+09:00

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar came so close to his 100th century before getting out on an LBW decision .

India has won the 1st test match in West Indies tour of India,Thanks to the heroics of Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman in the second innings.Sachin Tendulkar looked in form with his 76 runs and VVS Laxman played his part with a well earned classy half century.Dravid was the first to go in a beauty of a ball bowled by F Edwards which took his stumps off.

VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid

Anyways it was Dravid's heroics in the first innings that was crucial in the match.The second test match will start soon,All the Best India and RD.

Launches Abhinav Bhindra's Biography

2011-11-07T20:39:00.002+09:00

Rahul Dravid with an ICC Award.

Rahul Dravid recently met with the Olympic Gold medal winner to launch his new book.Dravid commented on the book that,

The struggle of a sportsman on the road to success has been brought out well in Abhinav's book. I find resonance with that. This book is a great achievement for someone so young

Dravid at the event also commented that he doesn't want to be a role-model and that is Cricket has been lucky sport in India,He said that

Cricket is just something that I am good at, just like various people are good at various things. What's lucky is that cricket gets enormous publicity.To be honest, what Abhinav and others like him have achieved has generated a lot more interest in people about other sports. There's no point in comparing cricket to other sports. It's just that cricket has been lucky,

Dravid's half-century inspires India to cross 200 Mark against West Indies

2011-11-07T20:29:00.003+09:00

Rahul Dravid.

It was 89-1 when RD came on to bat,but soon Virender Sehwag got out to a stunner stumping by West Indies wicket keeper Baugh.It was 100-2 at the stage when Sachin Tendulkar walked out to bat,Initially Sachin showed glimpses of his greatness but was soon out Lbw to Edwards.Then from there on wickets began falling,VVS laxman walked out after a couple of overs.Yuvraj Singh started off slowly and went for the shots until he was caught out trying to cover drive.It was 152-5 at that stage.Dhoni came on to bat and went out for a duck on being bowled by Sammy.Then Ishant Sharma and Dravid put up a fighting partnership of almost 50 to make India cross the 200 mark.Ishant soon had to walk out being caught behind and then Ojha walked out to bat.Then the wall fell trying to pull the ball but failing to time it properly ending up caught by the Windies captain.Umesh Yadav who followed was wrapped in the next ball, Ending the Indian Innings at 209 and taking a lead of about 95 runs.

Ajinkya Rahane says Rahul Dravid helped him improve his game

2011-11-03T23:27:00.000+09:00

Ajinkya Rahane.

Ajinkya Rahane the new talent of Indian team has revealed that it was Dravid's advice that helped him improve his game.RD gave his advice to the youngster during an IPL league match in Rajasthan.Rahane said Dravid was always a hero for him, He commented that

'Batting with him (Rahul Dravid) has helped a lot. I was with him in Rajasthan Royals and then during the England series. He has guided me a lot from time to time whenever he is with me'.Dravid asked me to back myself and not to think about anything else.'

NDTV Life time achivement award for Dravid

2011-10-23T05:37:00.000+09:00

Rahul Dravid - NDTV Lifetime achivement award Rahul Dravid four days ago was crowned a 'Life Time Achivement award' by NDTV.Dravid was honoured for his contributions to Indian Cricket with more than 35 centuries,12000 runs in Test cricket and 10000runs in ODI format of the game.

Proud to be your fan.Well done RD.