I was coached to be a Test player, felt insecure when I was dropped from ODI team in 1998: Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid was one of the greatest batsmen of his era. However, it was not just his batting for which he was known, his various other qualities won the hearts of cricket fans. Among his many virtues, the one that stood out was his temperament. However, despite being ‘The Wall’ of the team, the former Indian cricketer too had his moments of insecurities and felt that he wasn’t good enough.

In a recent chat with former India cricketer and current women’s team coach WV Raman, the legendary cricketer spoke about the time when he felt insecure in the Indian team. His journey was just like any other cricketer and he had to fight hard to consolidate his place in the team.

“There have been phases in my international career (when I felt insecure). I was dropped from the ODI team in 1998. I had to fight my way back in, was away from the Indian team for a year. There were certain insecurities then, about whether I’m a good enough one-day player or not because I always wanted to be a Test player, was coached to be a Test player, hit the ball on the ground, don’t hit the ball in the air, coaching like that. You sort of worry whether you had the skills to be able to do it (in an ODI),” Dravid told former India cricketer WV Raman.

There was no IPL during that time, money in Ranji Trophy was poor: Rahul Dravid

‘The Wall’ of Indian cricket was often criticized for not having the attacking game. Despite all the criticism he fought his way back into the team. He made a comeback ahead of the 1999 World Cup in England and was also the highest run-scorer of the tournament with 461 runs. The former cricketer also went on to play the 2003 and 2007 ODI World Cups.

“I have gone through many phases of insecurities. Growing up as a young cricketer in India is not easy, there’s a lot of competition and especially in the times I grew up there was only the Ranji Trophy and the Indian team, there was no IPL. Even the money in Ranji Trophy was so poor that there was always that constant challenge,” he revealed.

Rahul Dravid went on to play 164 Test matches and 344 ODIs scoring 13,288 and 10,889 runs respectively. He is also known as a true gentleman of the game for his calm and composed nature. He now monitors the India A and India U19 cricket teams.