Felt Insecure After Being Dropped From ODIs In 1998, Recalls Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid is one of the finest ambassadors of the game. He earned accolades across formats and was one of the key in the Indian line-up during his time. In fact, Dravid proved his mental strength and agility with his calm and composed knocks in Test. He was a batsmen who could save India from the jaws of defeat by standing like a wall and continuing to bat through out the innings.

His achievements speak for himself. It is no mean feat to score runs in both the formats and be at remain at the top of one’s game. Dravid scored 13288 runs in the longest format of the game in 164 matches while he played 344 ODIs to score 10899. However, Dravid who has seen a lot of highs in his career had also faced some setbacks.

Dravid was dropped from the ODI team in 1998. It was a time when he doubted himself. He said that he became insecure about himself and their were questions that if he was a good ODI player which rouse to his mind. The questions were certain for him as he always wanted to be a Test player and was coached by a Test player.

“There have been phases in my international career (when I felt insecure). I was dropped from the ODI team in 1998. I had to fight my way back in, was away from the Indian team for a year,” Dravid told WV Raman in a chat.

“There were certain insecurities than about whether I’m a good enough one-day player or not because I always wanted to be a Test player, was coached to be a Test player, hit the ball on the ground, don’t hit the ball in the air, coaching like that. You sort of worry whether you had the skills to be able to do it (in an ODI),” he added. 

Apart from being a great player. Dravid was a great captain as well. Dravid captained India for 79 ODIs between 2000 to 2007. He also led the national team to the 2007 World Cup, where the side had a tour to forget.

Under the captaincy of Dravid, India won 42 matches in the ODI format and lost 33, with his run in Test format not so great as a captain.

Dravid, incidentally, is fifth on the list of Indian captains who have led the side most number of times in the ODIs.