Former India skipper Rahul Dravid turned 48 on Monday and fans took to social media in large numbers to wish the batting great on his special day. Along with their heart-warming wishes, some fans also pulled up interesting stats from his glorious playing career, while others praised him for always stepping up to do the difficult job for the team — including keeping wickets and opening the batting when called upon. Dravid, widely regarded as a Test specialist, had a fantastic career in both ODIs and Tests as he finished his career with over 10,000 runs each in both formats.
Former Indian batsman VVS Laxman, who shared some memorable partnerships with Dravid, took to Twitter to send his “warm wishes to a special friend”.
The duo shared one of the most memorable partnerships at the iconic Eden Gardens as India defeated Australia after they had enforced a follow-on.
“Warm birthday wishes to a special friend with whom I shared a lot of wonderful memories and who continues to inspire us. Wishing you a very special birthday and a wonderful year ahead Rahul,” Laxman tweeted.
Warm birthday wishes to a special friend with whom I shared a lot of wonderful memories and who continues to inspire us. Wishing you a very special birthday and a wonderful year ahead Rahul. pic.twitter.com/S3hWufvD9r
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) January 11, 2021
One of my favourite teammates from my Karnataka U-19 days, my childhood buddy and above all, a great human being. Happy birthday, Rahul Dravid. You’re the epitome of perfection. Have a great year ahead, Jam #HappyBirthdayDravid pic.twitter.com/xtsKXMF93Z
— | Dodda Ganesh (@doddaganesha) January 11, 2021
Cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle also passed his birthday greetings to Dravid.
“A very happy birthday to Rahul Dravid. Good day to have you batting!” Bhogle wrote on the micro0blogging site.
A very happy birthday to Rahul Dravid. Good day to have you batting!
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) January 10, 2021
Dravid, who currently heads the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, is the fourth highest run-getter in Test cricket with 13,288 runs from 286 innings of 164 matches at an impressive average of 52.31.
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The middle-order batsman was also a gun fielder and holds the record of most number of catches (210) in the outfield in the longest format.
He was bestowed with the Arjuna award — country’s second highest sporting honour — in 1998, while he received the country’s second and third highest civilian honour Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan in 2004 and 2013 respectively. He was also the recipient of the ICC Cricketer of the Year award in 2004.
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