Gautam Gambhir Reckons That Rahul Dravid Had A Bigger Impact On Indian Cricket Than Sourav Ganguly

Gautam Gambhir, former Indian opener, has heaped high praise on ‘The Wall’ Rahul Dravid, adding that the former Indian No.3 has had a bigger impact on Indian cricket, not only as a batsman but also a captain.

Rahul Dravid’s captaincy stint was marred with controversies thanks to the fallout between former captain Sourav Ganguly and then coach Greg Chappell and the eventual group-stage exit from the 2007 World Cup.

But that is not to say that Dravid’s stint as captain was all about disappointments. Under Dravid, India registered historic Test series wins in West Indies [2006] and England [2007], maiden Test win in South Africa [in Jo’Burg], and 17 consecutive wins while chasing in One-day cricket.

Talking about Rahul Dravid’s impact, Gautam Gambhir said-

“I made my ODI debut under Sourav Ganguly, I made my Test debut under Rahul Dravid. It is so unfortunate that we do not give enough credit for his captaincy as well. We only talk about Sourav Ganguly or MS Dhoni and now about Virat Kohli. But Rahul Dravid has been a fabulous captain for India,” Gautam Gambhir said on Star Sports show ‘Cricket Connected’.

“Even his records, he is probably the most underrated cricketer and probably the most underrated leader as well. We won in England, we won in West Indies and we won 14 or 15 games on the trot. But look at Rahul Dravid as a cricketer,” he stated.

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‘That is the kind of role models you want’- Gautam Gambhir on Rahul Dravid

Dravid was an ultimate team man; someone who would readily do everything that his team demanded from him, whether it was opening the innings in Test cricket, donning the keeping gloves in ODI cricket. And, Gambhir reckoned that he is just the kind of role model that you would want kids to emulate.

“You asked him to open the batting in Test cricket and he did that. He kept wickets for India, he batted as a finisher. He did everything Indian cricket or a captain asked him to do and that is the kind of role models you want. For me, I think he has had a bigger impact,” Gautam Gambhir reckoned.

“Sourav Ganguly has always had a bigger impact in white-ball cricket because of his flamboyance but Rahul Dravid overall in Indian cricket had a much bigger impact than probably anyone. You can actually match his impact on someone like Sachin Tendulkar as well. He played under the shadow of Sachin Tendulkar all his life, but impact wise probably the same.” he added.

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