The wall, Rahul Dravid team india batsman announces retirement from Test cricket, on a glorious 16-year of his career.
Dravid said “I would like to announce my retirement from international and domestic first-class cricket. It is 16 years since I played my first Test match for India and today I feel it is an time to move on. Once I was like every other boy in India, with a dream of playing for my country. Yet I could never have imagined a journey so long and so fulfilling.”
“No dream is ever chased alone. As I look back, I have many people to thank for teaching me and believing in me. My junior coaches in Bangalore and at various junior national camps inculcated in me a powerful love of the game which has always stayed with me, My coaches at the international level have added to my craft and helped shape my personality. The physios and trainers worked hard to keep me fit — not an easy job — and allowed me to play late into my 30s.
The selectors, who rarely receive any credit in India, occasionally had more confidence in me than I had in myself and I am grateful for that. The various captains I played under offered me guidance and inspired me. Most of all I have to thank the teams I played with.
I was lucky in my early years to play for Karnataka team which was trying to forge itself into a strong side and they were years of fun and learning.
In the Indian team, I was fortunate to be part of a wonderful era when India played some of its finest cricket at home and abroad. Many of my teammates have become legends, not just in India but in the wider cricketing world. I admired them, learnt from them and I leave the game with wonderful memories and strong friendships. It is a great gift to have.
My approach to cricket has been reasonably simple: it was about giving everything to the team, it was about playing with dignity and it was about upholding the spirit of the game. I hope I have done some of that. I have failed at times, but I have never stopped trying. It is why I leave with sadness but also with pride.
Finally I would like to thank the Indian cricket fan, both here and across the world. The game is lucky to have you and I have been lucky to play before you. To represent India, and thus to represent you, has been a privilege and one which I have always taken seriously.
Dravid ended his Test career with 13,288 runs in 164 matches, including 36 hundreds and 63 half centuries with an average of 52.31.
“I would like to believe irrespective of how the Australian series had gone, I would have assessed a lot of things and come to the same conclusion.”
“I don’t think I based this decision on series, it’s a culmination of a lot of things. These decisions are based on a lot of things.”
“It was an honour and a privilege to play with the galaxy of cricketers I played with … fortunate to play in an era which was pretty successful in Indian cricket, for me to be sharing a dressing room with them was an honour.”
David said, “When you play for 16 years, you will face highs and lows. There have been many disappointments and great highs. There is a huge sense of satisfaction that I have always given it my best shot. I have left no stone unturned in trying to become the best cricketer I can become. Absolutely no regrets.”
“I felt it was the right time for me to move on, for a next generation of cricketers to play and take the team forward …a lot of these decisions just come to you in different ways …I just felt the time was right. I needed to move on.”
“Yes and no. It’s all I’ve known, from that point of view it was a difficult decision. But I knew deep down the time was right. I was very happy and comfortable in what I had achieved and what I had done,” he said.
Dravid said, “You have to deal with criticism and praise as well.”
“If you make a decision during a series, then I think it is great. I have been part of nice farewells. But I made my decision now. Just to keep playing for the sake of playing one more match was not right. That’s not how I have played the game. The only reason I played a cricket match for India was to try and win a match for India.”
Asked if the nickname “The Wall” meant to him, Dravid, “I never took it seriously to be honest … it was a nice line for newspapers … I never thought of it, I know people called me that fondly so I respect it.”
Dravid made it clear he will not play any domestic cricket, apart from IPL.
“Not really, I believe we have a lot of young talents in Karnataka. I felt I’d just be blocking a youngsters place by playing Ranji Trophy,”
“Hard to pick one innings … 180 at Kolkata, 233 in Adelaide… the couple of innings in Jamaica on a low scoring wickets … Headingley … it’s hard to pick one innings. It’s hard to choose between your sons.”
“A little bit of time away from the game will be good for me. A lot of people I respect have told me if you get away from the game for a while, it will give you a better perspective of it,” he said.
“We are all disappointed about England and Australia. Having said that I believe Indian cricket is in a good place. There is a bunch of talented batsmen waiting in the wings. When I look back at myself as a 23 year old, I was no where near as talented as some of these kids. But talent alone is not enough. I hope two or three can establish themselves and play for the Indian team for a long time. It’s going to be a challenging and interesting time.”
