VVS Laxman rates Rahul Dravid on par with Sachin Tendulkar

Former Indian batsman VVS Laxman has rated his one-time teammate Rahul Dravid very highly and said he was on par with Sachin Tendulkar during his playing days and it was achieved only due to his “sheer hard work”. When Rahul Dravid made his Test debut in 1996, Sachin Tendulkar was already a veteran in the team with 7 years of international cricket behind him. But this did not deter Dravid from becoming the mainstay of the Indian batting line-up in the coming 3 4 years.

In the early 2000’s Dravid used to give a huge price tag on his wicket and the opposition team knew that as long Dravid is in the crease he can save a match from nowhere. He was one of the most hardworking and disciplined blokes during his cricketing career and perhaps that was the reason David managed to come close to Sachin Tendulkar. The “Wall “ finished his exceptional Test career with 13,288 runs compared to Tendulkar’s 15,921 runs.

“Sachin (Tendulkar) was already an established cricketer when me and Dravid joined the team. Dravid sometimes underestimates his own talent, but if he has come somewhere close to Sachin it was sheer hard work,” Laxman was quoted as saying during the inaugural sports literature themed festival ‘SportaLe’.

He further went on to rate Dravid and Virender Sehwag as the two Indian players who had the biggest impact in India’s victories overseas. While Dravid scored 7690 runs in overseas conditions, Sehwag accumulated 3930 runs in away Tests. “Every player had their space. And, I feel anyone who had great impact on India’s performance overseas was Viru (Virender Sehwag) and Dravid,” said Laxman.

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He was also asked about his historic innings of 281 against Australia at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata during the 2001 series. “Milestones are by-product of the situation you are in. What you do under pressure is what matters. My 281 may be remembered by all for that innings helped India beat Australia, but I have played many other meaningful innings in which my score may not be in hundreds.”