Rahul Dravid Reveals How Sourav Ganguly Approached Him For Wicket-Keeping

Former India skipper Rahul Dravid who took up wicket-keeping to give his side the luxury to play an extra batsman has revealed how Sourav Ganguly persuaded him to do the job for India. Ganguly made a keeper out of Dravid who went onto play some crucial roles in the fifty overs format.

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Meanwhile, the Karnataka cricketer came to the Indian team solely as a batsman. Initially seen as a liability in the one-day arena, Rahul Dravid retooled his game over the years to become a useful middle-order finisher. The heaves and swipes didn’t come naturally, but by the time the selectors dropped him in early 2008 after the debacle in the 2007 World Cup, he had more than 10,000 runs to his name in the 50-over game. There had also been a lengthy phase where he donned the wicketkeeping gloves, helping the team to find a balance that was crucial in the run to the World Cup final in 2003.

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Recently, in an exclusive chat for a Youtube channel named Viu India, Rahul Dravid revealed how Sourav Ganguly, the then skipper of the Indian team, convinced him to take up wicket-keeping. Previously, Dravid had kept wicket-keeping till the age of 15. He also revealed that India had hired a wicket-keeping coach, especially for him during that period.

“I was asked, “Will you try?” The last time had done any sort of wicketkeeping, it was at the age of 15. I had given up wicketkeeping after that. But then, I was not that good a wicketkeeper. I’ll be very honest. I remember, we hired a wicket-keeping coach, a friend of John Wright’s for a series and two-three more sessions for me.,” Dravid said.

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Furthermore, Rahul Dravid was terrible with his feet movements behind the wicket. But he had great fun keeping wickets for India which also gave his side to play an extra batsman during that period which helped India immensely. Dravid had kept in 73 ODI matches claiming 71 catches and affecting 13 stumpings. He also has the fourth most dismissals among Indian wicket-keepers, topped by MS Dhoni.

“I was good at catching the ball because I was a slip fielder but my feet movement was terrible. And keeping is a lot about your feet and getting your feet in the right place. Which is why I was terrible down the leg side. But yeah, it was nice and it was great. We could then give the opportunity to play an extra batsman,” he concluded.