In the first decade of the 21st century, Sachin Tendulkar ruled the roost, but there were several other batters who made a niche for themselves during this era. Rahul Dravid, India’s Wall at No. 3, was also one such name who made a mark despite falling behind Tendulkar’s overall stature throughout his career at the highest level. Former Pakistan captain and chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq recently recalled his first impression of Rahul Dravid and stated that it didn’t take him much time to realize Dravid’s true potential.
“When I first saw him, I remember we were playing in Canada. Someone told me that this new boy plays well. So I thought of having a look at him,” said Inzamam in his YouTube channel.
Inzy further opined, “We had Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis who were known terrorise the youngsters with their pace and swing. Wasim and Waqar’s name was enough for any youngster. But the confidence with which Dravid played them made us believe that he is special,” he said.
Inzy once again dwelled into the past and revealed, “It is very difficult to score runs when spinners bowl from around the wicket and into the rough. In a Test against India in Kolkata, I asked Danish Kaneria to bowl to him from around the wicket but after a while, I realised that he was scoring more runs against him. I have seen a lot of great players struggle to score when the spinner bowls into the rough but Dravid made it look so easy,” he said.
Inzamam concluded, “Dravid used to score runs away from home. If you look at his record, it is simply outstanding. He has scored close to 24-25 thousand runs. This is not easy. Ask Dravid and you will know. He had to perform at the top level with the same consistency for close to 20 years to achieve all this.”
