Rahul Dravid, the National Cricket Academy (NCA) coach who serves as an inspiration for young cricketers, shared his views on youngsters throwing away their talent unnecessarily and stressed on sportsmanship which plays a pivotal role in the gentleman’s game cricket.
Even after several years of his retirement, former Indian skipper Rahul Dravid who retired in 2012 after debuting in 1996 remains to be an inspiration for several cricketers across the globe.
Rahul Dravid Frustrated To See Youngsters Throw And Waste Away Gift Of Talent
One of the finest gentlemen to serve the game of cricket, Rahul Dravid continues to nurture India’s next-generation as the head of the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.
Rahul Dravid, who was also known as Mr Cool during his playing days, spoke exclusively to ET Now and shared his views on how youngsters throwing away their talent is something which frustrates him.
“Thousands of people who would want to be in the position I want to be in, in a sense I owe it to them, to do the best I can with my talent over the period of time that I have. I think that was in a sense quite truthful to me. You have been given a gift, don’t throw away that gift.
“That frustrates me a lot as well when I see a lot of young people sometimes waste the talent they have been given, that frustrates me because if you have been given that kind of a gift, I certainly think you should try and do the best with it. So people like them were my inspiration as a lot. I looked upto them and said – they would want to be in my place, I owe it to them to be the best that I can be because I have been given this gift and I don’t know why,” Rahul Dravid told Ayaz Menon while speaking to ET Now.
Rahul Dravid always played cricket upholding he right spirit besides setting high standards on the field in terms of sportsmanship and game-plan.
Rahul Dravid: One Should Adhere To Rules And Be Respectful For Regulations
The Wall as he was fondly called stressed how sportsmanship remains a key pivotal feature of the gentleman’s game, and one did not have to be nasty and mean always to become a successful cricketer while sharing his views on the importance of playing the game upholding the right spirit.
“I think a certain amount of respect for the rules respect for regulations, respect for your opposition, respect for spectators, people who follow the sport, at a personal level I think is very very important. That really adds meaning to what you are doing, otherwise to me, it just becomes too transactional, just playing it for losing or winning or for the money.
“I think to make that distinction, that doesn’t make you a lesser player, it shouldn’t have to make you a lesser player. Just because you follow the rules, just because you are the nice guy to shake hands with the opposition and genuinely understand what your responsibilities are in the larger scheme of things in the game, doesn’t make you less competitive or bowl a poor outswinger or not bat well. I think they are not related. You don’t have to be mean and nasty to be really successful,” Rahul Dravid added.
Rahul Dravid is one of the few cricketers to score 10,000 runs both in ODI and Test cricket with 36 Test and 12 ODI tons besides his name. He played 164 tests and 344 ODIs.