Flamboyant Dravid in IPL-6

Rahul Dravid - 'Mr.Dependable' of the Indian Cricket, who is often related to the term consistency, has defended it and proved it once again in this IPL 2013. He has lead his team flamboyantly from the front. While mentioning the term 'Consistency', I still remember an incident that made me happy being a Dravid fan when one of my professor in college who was himself an example for the students has mentioned Rahul Dravid as an example for explaining the term 'Consistency' in one of my subjects. I remained more attentive than normal throughout that session because of it ;) That was one of my unforgettable moments when all my friends were staring at me to see me smiling as a proud RD fan :)

Memories apart, back to the topic, Rahul Dravid - 'The Wall' who is often criticized for his low strike rate in shorter versions, has broken his jinx and critics in this IPL 2013. It's not an easy task for a cricketer who has retired a year ago to come back with this kind of performance. Each and every innings that he has played so far in this tournament eloquently reveals his dedication, hard work and his passion for the game. He has not just excelled as a batsman or a fielder but even as a skipper. He has been appreciated  for using his limited resources well. Now even the T20 enthusiasts agree to the fact that the techniques, class and a spirited attitude can sound louder than the strike rates for a batsman.



 After playing  for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for the first three seasons of IPL, former Indian skipper Rahul Dravid has been taken in auction by the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL auction 2011. Breaking all his jinx, Dravid became the highest run scorer for Rajasthan Royals in 2011. Then in the IPL 2012 he has been named as a successor to Shane Warne as captain for the Rajasthan Royals. And now in IPL 2013, he has been one of the consistent performers in his team and in the tournament as well. As of now Dravid is at the 9th position in the highest run scorer list in IPL. Apart from his individual performance, Dravid has drawn everyone's attention by the way he captains his team. As Dravid said before in an interview, his team doesn't have many resources or high profile players except Shane Watson and some more as compared to other teams. But he has brought up the young, local talented players into the limelight. Some of the players like Ajinkya Rahane, Sanju Samson, Stuart Binny and Dishant Yagnik have came up to the need of their team and excelled well in their respective roles. The way he conducts his team with the spirit, the way he manages his team compositions along with Paddy Upton(former cricketer, a South African coach) is a delight. These young budding players doesn't need much more than being a part of the team under Rahul Dravid, the legend. They can learn many cricketing aspects as well as the other from one of the Cricket's great gentlemen 'Rahul Dravid'.

Image Courtesy - espncricinfo.com

Rahul Dravid's stats in IPL till date :

Year        Matches    Runs    NO    HS     Ave       SR        100's    50's     4's    6's     Ct

2013           14          387       1       65    32.25    110.88      0         4       51      4        3

2012           16          462       0       58    28.87    112.13      0         2       63      4        5

2011           12          343       1       66    31.18    109.23      0         1       45      2        2

2010           16          256       2       52    28.44    128.64      0         1       34      3        4

2009           13          271       0       66    22.58    115.81      0         1       28      3        2

2008           14          371       1       75*  28.53    124.49      0         2       35     11       2

Overall        85         2090      5       75*  28.63    115.72      0        11     256    27      18

Stats Courtesy : iplt20.com
 More than stats we Dravid fans believe in his class and techniques forever.
Here's one of Dravid's innings in Match-13 of IPL 2013 - Rajasthan Royals vs Pune Warriors India :

Video Courtesy : YouTube

Rahul Dravid is not only a perfect example for the term consistency but also for the way he presents us with his blend of traditional and technical shots that matches to the modern day trend. I hope that all the Dravid fans out there like me are enjoying this IPL more than the previous seasons. Its a treat to watch him play or captain any team. Notably those lovely square cuts and his special cover drives were amazing. Hoping to see Dravid Sir in IPL 2014 :)