The wall of Indian cricket was a gentleman even in his earlier cricketing career. Karan Thapar’s interview with Rahul Dravid has some key conversation that proves Rahul’s solemnity towards cricket.
Here are the 12 key takeaways from Rahul Dravid’s interview
1. Mr. Thapar: You were born in Indore and been brought up in a Maharastran Family, grew up in south India and was educated by a catholic school. It’s a very cosmopolitan background. Isn’t it?
Dravid: Its strange for me as well, my mother’s family is from Indore. I was raised in Bengaluru and studied at St. Joseph Boys High school. We are a very typical Indian middle-class family. My mother is an architect and my father is a company executive. I grew up adequately along with my brother, we 4 are a very dear family; we have dinner together and spend a lot of time together. That’s the way our parents brought up.
2. Mr. Thapar: How do your family take cricket?
Dravid: There was not too much discussion about cricket in our family. Even my brother had the most limited importance in the game. So it was uncertain if I could have discussed the sport with them.
3. Mr. Thapar: You began playing cricket at the age of 12. Did you just take it as a game or thought to take it as a carrier?
Dravid: When you are young, people in school commonly ask you; what you wanted to become? It is obvious that some may answer as a Pilot, Engineer or maybe a Doctor. But I always stood up and said firmly that I wanted to be a cricketer. From a very young age, I wanted to be a cricketer. Initially, when you play this game, you do not look at it as a career but you just enjoy it as a sport. But when you become good at this you may contemplate it as a career.
4. Mr. Thapar: The enjoyment leads to a realization that you can play professionally and then comes the dedication. How will you describe this?
Dravid: It has to start by you and from loving the game. A lot of parents come to me and ask how can I make my son a cricketer. I just tell them that you can never make your son a cricketer; they have to become one.
5. Mr. Thapar: Are cricketers born? Or do they become one?
Dravid: I think its a mixture of both. One has to love the game from the beginning stage. It is then a character should be guided and trained as a cricketer. You cant take your child to a cricket field and force him to play the game. It would not lead to a conclusion. That’s wrong, until and unless your kids take interest in the game it’s ineffective. When you take me as an example, as a young boy I never use to sleep when I had a match the next day. The interest always motivated me to do more.
6. Mr. Thapar: How much of a discipline that is essential to make a great cricketer, came from your parents?
Dravid: To be honest, my parents were never strict. They never forced me to do things that I don’t like. Cricket was always a second option for my parents. Growing up in a middle-class family, cricket was not the final choice. My parents wanted me to study. They use to set a benchmark from where I was supposed to score more marks in my exams, or cricket for me was at risk.
7. Mr. Thapar: In between studies and cricket, you were being pressurized in school and your parents. Moreover, things that teenagers usually do such as going for movies, hanging out with friends and traveling places; could have kept you away. How did you handle this?
Dravid: Yes I did miss certain kinds of stuff that a normal teen would have. You have to make a choice when you are up for something. It’s not a pressure. It’s just enjoyment and love for what you do. Talking about cricket and studies, you know you wanna play cricket, and by the time you also realize studies are also important. I gave equal importance to both. When I missed some fun things in my life it dint mattered to me because cricket was more important.
8. Mr. Thapar: What does cricket mean to Rahul Dravid now?
Dravid: There was a nice T-shirt that I saw from one of the Australian producers. There was a short message printed in it that read “Cricket is Life, the rest is mere detail”. That’s what it’s all about. I give 80% of my time to the game. Cricket has been my life for so many years and it will continue to be so.
9. Mr. Thapar: You had a roller coaster kind of a career. You had both good and bad days. How did you handle those?
Dravid: I think you handle such things over time and experience. Even when we grow up we have these highs and lows. As a cricketer, there are days when you will do extremely good with the bat and there are also days when you don’t perform well. The learning process starts when you are too young, it’s the time when you should realize that both good and bad will come your way eventually. Your family also plays an important role in it. My parents never bother if I was a successful cricketer or not because at the end of the day I was their son. They were always positive in all types of times. Cricket is not the end of life that’s what always helps from the family perspective.
10. Mr. Thapar: Apart from cricket, how does Rahu Dravid relax?
Dravid: I read a lot. Reading helps me take my mind away from cricket. I love to read, especially autobiographies and cricket books. I enjoy going to the theater, the music and the way they produce it, it gives me so much joy and pleasure.
11. Mr. Thapar: Are you a shy person?
Dravid: Yes I am. In the beginning, it was very difficult for me to talk about my self to others.
12. Mr. Thapar: How do you handle adulation or admiration?
Dravid: It’s not very often that I bother stuff like this. You get used to it. You realize that its the game that has helped you to achieve everything. Some stars have also gained tremendous applauded for a moment. It’s just that for a while you get an appreciation, after a period it could be someone else. It’s just a part of your life.
