Rahul Dravid, the household name for the decent cricketing style is simply irreplaceable, for his differentiating style in any format of cricket, Dravid earned millions of fans across the world. His attitude towards the teammates, juniors or anyone is always the most esteemed on the cricket fraternity.
Now, after a while, for the first time ever, this former India captain and current coach of India A and India U-19, has opened up on the aggression current Indian skipper Virat Kohli gets on the table and the right time when wicketkeeper-batsman MS Dhoni should bid adieu to his international cricket career.
This happened at the Bangalore Literature Festival on Sunday, Dravid surprisingly said that he cringes on reading skipper Kohli’s statements before a series, said, “Virat sometimes comes across as outrageous and I cringe on reading his statements before a series. But if he can bring the best out of himself by needling the opposition, so be it. People ask me why I didn’t behave like Virat when I played for India. I would have been inauthentic to myself had I gotten tattoos and behaved like Virat.”
Dravid deliberately stated that matches can be won by those who won’t sport a tattoo on their sleeves. When asked about Dhoni’s retirement, he gave a humorous yet clever answer, added, “People might have different opinions on when Dhoni should retire. But, if the selectors have selected him, he can play for India as long as he wants.”
There has always been a talk that cricket has been commercialized with the entry of shorter formats and other leagues like IPL, Dravid on this went saying that it is good to have such things, not only because they provided a great scope for the players from the middle-class, but also grant greater facilities to the ongoing team altogether.
In his words, “Although people may deride IPL and T20 format because of which they think cricket has been commercialized, thanks to the money in it, access to facilities are better.” Well, he is just as right as he always is.