http://www.firstpost.com/sports/greatest-memories-are-indias-series-wins-not-runs-scored-dravid-151326.htmlIn an exclusive interview to CNN-IBN‘s sports editor Gaurav Kalra, Rahul Dravid talks about what keeps him ticking in test cricket after 15 years of playing the game, his records and India’s upcoming four-match test series against Australia.
On his goals for the Australia test
“Nothing in terms of my own statistics there. I want to win a test series in Australia…try and help win a test series in Australia — something we have never done,” says Dravid. “Everytime we go and travel there that’s going to be our goal and its not easy but the goal is to try and win a series.”
Dravid says that Australia has long been the benchmark for the game and are still a good side, “So it would be special to go and do well there.”
Rahul Dravid plays a shot during the third day of India's third test match against West Indies in Mumbai on 24 November. Reuters
Comparing his present form to his form in 2003 at Aldelaide
Dravid had scored 233 against Australia in 2003 and finds himself confident going into this series. “I’ve go some runs behind me and even though runs behind me doesn’t translate into runs in the future, it definitely means you go there in a good space. I’m pretty confident. Hitting the ball well. And, I feel relaxed.”
The first test will be held in Melbourne on 26 December.
On the numbers that follow him
The perpetually modest Dravid who has in his 15 years of test cricket notched up 37 test hundreds and 13,000 test runs doesn’t make a big deal about his records. Instead he jokes about it saying, ”What they tell you, is that I have been around a long time,”
He says that if one is consistent over a period of time, plays as long as he has and manages to stay fit, one can get the numbers.
Dravid says that growing up as a kid playing cricket and having watched Sunil Gavaskar get his 10,000th run has been fodder for his career. “It is those moments and memories that your careers are built,” he says. “It’s those memories that stay with you, that give you ambitions for the future”.
He says he don’t look at the numbers anymore, instead, his memories and ambitions are more the team’s numbers. “There’s a point of time in your career when you stop looking at the numbers…You wouldn’t mind scoring 500 or a 1,000 runs less, if you could win a series in Australia,” he says. ”The greatest memories for me now are not necessarily the statistics or the no of runs, its moments — those magic moments. …the series wins, the test wins,” he says.On being the oldest active test cricketer in the world
Just like his many stints on the wicket where he has stuck along stubbornly, Rahul Dravid has stuck to playing test cricket as resolutely. Dravid is the oldest active test cricketer in the world and while it does speak volumes about his work ethic, discipline and desire to be successful in tests for such a long time, he is modest as usual about his achievement.
Without an iota of credit for himself, Dravid says that his longevity indicates “that fitness levels, the access that we have these days to fitness trainers and sports science has improved tremendously since I started.”
On catches and what makes them special
Dravid acknowledges that he is really proud of his 200 catches in the slips because of all the hardwork he has put into it since taking up cricket and playing for home state Karnataka. But it’s not just about the number of catches for him. He loves the camaraderie and team spirit feeling that catches evoke.
“I know the number of hours I have put in and number of catches I have taken till my hands were literally sore,” he says. But, he loves taking catches because it gives one a feeling of sharing in the success of the team.
He says it even betters the feeling of having scored a ton. “You know when you get a 100 you share it with your partner…But you know when you take a catch, you get to share that with your team mates instantly. And that’s a lovely feeling,” Dravid says, adding, “It’s a great feeling when you know you have shared in the success of somebody else.”
AuthorTopic: India touring Australia 2011-12 : pre-series thread (Read 3812 times)
September 23, 2008, 07:47:11 AM