Seven things to learn from Rahul Dravid

Few days back, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) heeded to the demand made by Under-19 team coach Rahul Dravid and announced to equally reward all the members of the support staff of the World Cup winning India Under-19 team.

The decision meant Dravid had to part with half of his earlier announced reward money of INR 50 lakhs. But he ensured all his support staff colleagues got INR 25 lakhs which was 2.5 times more than the earlier announced sum of INR 10 lakhs.

This is just one of those in-numerous acts which have made RD (as he is fondly mentioned among fans) peerless. In the world of cricket, he is a living legend. But as a person, you may find him more as an institution, a person who any budding youngster in any profession can look up to! There are many things to learn from this 'Gentle Giant'!

Here is an attempt to highlight few learnings from "The Wall"-

Gain mastery in the field chosen

Beginning the cricketing journey at his school days itself, Dravid made his first class debut in 1991 for his home state Karnataka. Five years of consistent performances for Karnataka earned him a place for Indian National team in 1996.

Since then, for the next 15 years, there was no looking back for the stylish right-hander as he kept on climbing the ladder of greatness, crossing many milestones, creating new batting records and winning matches for India.

While batting in Tests, he put a great price on his wicket, often spending long hours at the batting crease, keeping opponent bowlers in bay, either laying in the foundation for a big score or taking his team to a safe position. In shorter formats, he mixed caution with aggression, making sure the scoreboard kept ticking.

It was not just about the approach, but he made the batting looked beautiful! The caressing cover drive, a sharp square cut, a silky straight drive, the productive pull, the list goes on. Every shot in the book was played with perfection!

As long as he was in the crease, Team India and its fans found themselves in a cozy comfort zone. Rightfully, a unique sobriquet "The Wall" came his way, with or without his liking!

In numbers, "The Wall" appeared in 164 Tests amassing 13288 runs with 36 centuries. He is at present, fourth among the top run-getters in Tests. In the 50-over format, he played in 344 matches, accumulating 10889 runs with 12 centuries. He is among the only two batsmen from India who have crossed 10K runs in both the formats. He even made his mark in the only T20I played where he hit three consecutive sixes against England.

Not just in batting, RD was very good in the field as well. He made his mark in taking sharp catches in slips and short legs. Showing great alertness and reflexes, he pouched 210 catches for his bowlers, which is a record in Test Cricket.

Learning Takeaway - The numbers themselves inspire anyone to give their best in their chosen profession, gain proficiency over the activities involved, and try to achieve maximum returns from the profession.

Keep the team above self

The hallmark of RD's career has been the way he had kept his team above self. He kept wickets in ODIs for more than two years when his captain wanted to play an extra batsman. Though he was not fully comfortable behind wickets, he gave his best donning the big gloves, claiming 84 dismissals in 73 matches.

Also whenever an adjustment was needed in the batting combination, he was the go-to man to bat in a different position, sacrificing his usual No. 3. Opening the innings in the Oval Test against England in 2011, RD carried his bat through India's first innings scoring an unbeaten 146 when rest of his teammates struggled in the swinging conditions. Within minutes after his marathon first innings, he came out to open the second innings as well, when the follow-on was imposed on India.

Learning Takeaway - In any profession, there will be certain times, when one is asked to come out of his/her comfort zone for a bigger cause. The cause may benefit the team or organization one is working with.

The flexibility shown by RD in performing additional roles for his team, is a great inspiration in handling "out of comfort zone" situations. Instead of feeling burdened, one should treat such situations as opportunities in achieving excellence.

Be prepared to play bigger role

The captaincy (for both Indian Test and ODI teams) came calling to RD in October 2005. He wholeheartedly accepted the challenge. Having been in Indian team think-tank for close to five years as a vice-captain had helped him with preparedness.

In fact, the captaincy was not a new thing to him - he had already led Karnataka team to Ranji Trophy Championship in 1998. Also for India during the period 2000-05, he had got several opportunities to stand in for Sourav Ganguly whenever he was not available.

Under him, India chased down the totals a record 16 consecutive times in 50-over format. In Tests, India achieved great success in away series' winning in West Indies after the gap of 35 years and in England after 21 years. He led Indian Test team scripting its first victories in Pakistan and South Africa as well.

In the shortest format also, he was at the helm of affairs for Rajasthan Royals for two years. He led his team to playoffs in 2013 edition of IPL and to the finals of Champions League in the same year.

Learning Takeaway - In any profession, one needs to be aspirant to play higher role whenever it comes his/her way. But for that, the preparedness is important! One should always need to lookout for honing the skills needed to perform higher role.

Not to lose head for things go wrong!

Rahul Dravid, in his career, faced the axe from selectors few times from ODI squad - first of them was in 1998 during his early years in International career, the reason being his slow strike rate!

He had to work on few technical aspects of his batting in order to keep rotating the strike and to improve the scoring rate. He worked diligently to make slight corrections to his batting style, to suit shorter version of the game.

The effort bore fruits as he was successful to make a come back to ODI team in early 1999. That year itself, he scored 1761 runs in 43 matches with the help of six centuries. In the World Cup held in the same year, he even emerged as the highest run-getter in the tournament. He eventually became a vital cog in Indian 50-Over team till late 2007.

In 2007, a poor series at home against Australia made him sit out of the ODI team. The World Cup debacle in Caribbean islands, and the arrival of promising youngsters who won the inaugural World Twenty20, both happenins in the same year itself, made the case stronger against The Wall.

Dravid seemed to accept the fact that his removal from 50-over team was more about giving chance to youngsters than his form or technique. He was picked again couple of times - first in 2009 and then in 2011 but they were done considering specific series'. He was denied the chance to play in World Cup 2011.

The veteran, though disappointed, didn't utter a single word about his ouster from the team in shorter format. Instead of losing sleep over his removal, he chose to focus on his Test batting where he was still in reckoning.

Learning Takeaway - In any profession, setbacks may happen to anyone because of the decisions not in his/her control. If a setback is because of something a person is lacking, then he/she should work hard to overcome that. Otherwise if something is beyond his/her control then it is better to move on instead of losing sleep over those setbacks.

Calling it the day at the right time

Rahul Dravid announced his retirement in 2012 after the disastrous series in Australia! Though there were calls for retirement of all senior players including himself, there was no immediate threat for his place as he had three successful series before the tour Down Under.

He could have waited for few more months for the home series against New Zealand, in which, he could have got a chance to leave the arena playing his last Test in Bangalore, amidst the loud cheers of his home crowd!

Instead he chose to announce his retirement in front of a sparse gathering of reporters. During that press meet, he reasoned that the youngsters coming into his place should get ample time and chances to get settled, using home series's advantage before they tour for a tougher away series.

Learning Takeaway - In everyone's career, there comes a time when one has to say goodbye to the profession of his/her liking. People in services get to retire after certain age, but those working in a dynamic environment like Sports and Business may face the exit any time. People working in such a dynamic environment either should always keep evolving or make way for others who can do the same work in better way.

Giving back to the game

After retiring from Test and First Class Cricket, "The Wall" continued playing IPL, leading Rajasthan Royals (RR) franchisee for two more seasons. After the Champions League 2013 he chose to move on to the mentor's role and guided RR team for two seasons. After the franchisee was suspended in 2015, he moved to mentor Delhi Daredevils in 2016.

In his tenures with RR, first as Captain and then as mentor, RD's focus was to groom youngsters. He encouraged and ensured the young talents like Ajinkya Rahane, Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer came to the fore front and were prepared to perform at the International level.

He was even part of Government of India's TOP (Target Olympic Podium) initiative where he used to conduct lectures giving useful tips to the athletes qualified for 2016 Olympics. Recently he teamed up with Indian legend in Badminton, Prakash Padukone and opened Padukone-Dravid Centre for Sports Excellence. The centre boasts of a world class sports facility that aims to promote and build a platform for Indian youngsters to excel in their field.

Learning Takeaway - Retirement is not end of the road. There may be a lot of options open in associating with the profession of liking even after retirement. In fact, the experience gained over lifetime will help in grooming the youngsters in the right direction.

Take accountability

When BCCI formed the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) in June 2015, questions were asked why Dravid was not part of the committee comprising his peers and teammates Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman. A few days later, the answer came as BCCI announced RD as the coach for India A and India U-19 teams.

Dravid chose the coaching assignment which is more accountable than advisory one. The coach's success/failure is directly related to the performance of the team he is mentoring.

In his new role, his performance has been phenomenal! Under his guidance, India-A team tasted success in almost every series they played. India U-19 team's performance was even more appealing with the lads reaching finals in back to back editions of junior World Cup, 2016 and 2018, of-course emerging victorious in the latter very recently.

RD's mentoring has helped players like Karun Nair, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer in breaking into the national team. The junior boys like Ishan Kishan, Sarfaraz Khan and now Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill are getting ready to play in the bigger arena.

Learning Takeaway - In any profession, it would be better to assume a role with accountability. Though it has elements of risk associated with it, it helps to focus on the assignment and pushes oneself towards achieving results.