By CricketCountry Staff
Former Indian coach John Wright on Friday was full of praises for Rahul Dravid, saying he was one of the most invaluable cricketers to have ever played the game.
Published: Mar 09, 2012, 11:58 AM (IST)
Edited: Mar 09, 2012, 11:58 AM (IST)
John Wright said Rahul Dravid helped the former Indian coach during his tenure with the Indian cricket team © AFP
By CricketCountry Staff
Mumbai: Mar 9, 2012
Former Indian coach John Wright on Friday was full of praises for Rahul Dravid, saying he was one of the most invaluable cricketers to have ever played the game.
“Rahul Dravid is obviously one of India’s greatest batsmen — great in all conditions and one who scored runs everywhere. From a personal perspective, Rahul is one of the best men I’ve ever worked with. He always had a great awareness of what the team needed. In short, he’s not only a great cricketer, but a great man”, wrote Wright in his column for MiD DAY.
“I owe a lot to Rahul. He helped me a great deal during my tenure as coach of India (2000 to 2005). I worked with him at Kent as well as in India where he was the backbone of our batting, particularly overseas. We had a number of great players, but a lot of victories were built around his contributions.”
When asked about whether Dravid was given the credit that he deserves, Wright commented, “Well, Rahul was never one to take credit, but I think people who knew cricket, realised where the credit lay.”
Wright believed that Dravid’s committment towards the game was such that he was always up for any challenge that was thrown to him, “He responded well to every challenge. Anything he was asked to do for the team, he committed himself to doing it. Taking on the wicketkeeper’s role for our 2003 World Cup campaign is only one such example. He contributed so much to Sourav Ganguly and myself during those years. He was selfless.”
Recollecting his favourite memories of the great batsman, Wright mentioned, “There are many knocks that Dravid played that were special. I will never forget his hundred during the 2002 Headingly Test against England in the most difficult of batting conditions. There are others, obviously 180 vs the Australians at Kolkata in 2001, the double century in Adelaide (2003) and the unbeaten hundred to chase West Indies’ 300-plus score at Ahmedabad in 2002. Rahul Dravid is almost irreplaceable. He will be surely missed and never forgotten.”
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