Rahul Dravid’s Birthday: Wishes pour in on social media

Social media has flooded with birthday wishes as former India captain and batting great Rahul Dravid turned 47 on Saturday.

? Scored over 10,000 runs in both Tests and ODIs
? Faced more Test deliveries than any other batsman
? Only player to be involved in two 300-plus ODI partnerships
? 48 international centuries

Happy birthday, Rahul Dravid ?

?️ What are your favourite memories of 'The Wall'? pic.twitter.com/m3tvtNA3g6

— ICC (@ICC) January 11, 2020

Greatest Servant of Indian Cricket

There can be debates on who the greatest ever batsman of Indian cricket is or who the greatest bowler is, but there is absolutely no doubt on who the greatest servant of indian cricket is. It’s none other than Rahul Dravid. He has done almost everything that is possible for the betterment of Indian cricket and has taken up various roles while playing and after that as well when the team needed.

Dravid: "I Batted 604 Times For India, Didn't Cross 50 Runs 410 Times Out Of Those Inngs. I Failed A Lot More Times Than I Succeed. I'm More A Failure Than A Success So, I'm quite qualified to talk about failure."pic.twitter.com/zyFW7emDkw

— Cricketopia (@CricketopiaCom) January 10, 2020

He is possibly the most selfless player to have ever graced the 22 yards. He has batted at 6, Kept wickets, Opened the innings, Came back and played ODIs at 38 and literally did everything the team wanted him to do. After he was done playing he took to look after U-19 and India A boys when most people at his age preferred a comfortable chair in the Commentary box. And now he is at the helm of National cricket academy, trying to bring back the institution’s lost glory.

Wishes pour in from all sides

Former India captain Rahul Dravid, turned 47 on Saturday with wishes pouring in from all parts of the world.  The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) posted a video of Rahul Dravid’s special knock against New Zealand when he achieved his highest ODI score of 153 in Hyderabad on November 8, 1999.

Wishing The Wall – Rahul Dravid a very Happy Birthday. His exploits in Test cricket are well known but we thought we would relive one of his knocks in ODIs against New Zealand.
#HappyBirthdayRahulDravid ?? pic.twitter.com/psUsTPw8Xt

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 11, 2020

His former teammates like VVS Laxman, Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar and well-known commentator Harsha Bhogle too tweeted along with numerous other fans, wishing the batting maestro on his 47th birthday.

VVS Laxman posted a picture of the duo to wish his “good friend” while another teammate Harbhajan Singh reffered to him as a “legend”.

Wishing my good friend Rahul Dravid a very special birthday and a wonderful year filled with love,happiness and prosperity. pic.twitter.com/0zx7cmi5S1

— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) January 11, 2020

Happy birthday #RahulDravid what a legend ? pic.twitter.com/oMQhVMFbav

— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) January 11, 2020

Excellent cricketer. Excellent person. 47. Cruising into another fine innings. Rahul Dravid.

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) January 11, 2020

Sehwag on the other hand took this opertunity to praise Dravid’s grinding on the pitch.

From my understanding, I thought grinding only happens in the kitchen in the Mixer Grinder, but Dravid taught one can grind on the cricket pitch as well. We had it All when we had the Wall !#HappyBirthdayRahulDravid pic.twitter.com/eUVkpTtF8n

— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) January 11, 2020

Happy Birthday Jammy! The way you batted always created huge jams for the bowlers. Have a great one my friend. pic.twitter.com/JzCh9XW9iW

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) January 11, 2020

His former IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals came up with a movie poster to celebrate his blockbuster performances . The former cricketer is nicknamed as ‘The Wall’ for his unbreachable defense, the franchise referred to Amitabh Bachchan’s movie ‘Deewar’ to celebrate Dravid’s “blockbuster performances.”

2️⃣0️⃣ years of pure blockbuster performances!

Happy Birthday, legend ?#RahulDravid #HallaBol #RoyalsFamily pic.twitter.com/SxDMyb7YFo

— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) January 10, 2020

Fans shower praise upon the legend

Dravid is regarded as one of India’s most successful batsmen, especially in the Test arena.

Did You Know: Rahul Dravid is the only player in the history to spend a month of his life batting in Test cricket. He batted for 44152 minutes which equates to 30 days. #HappyBirthdayRahulDravid

— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad) January 11, 2020

In Test Cricket

5000+ Balls Faced – 205 players
10000+ Balls Faced – 75 players
15000+ Balls Faced – 32 players
20000+ Balls Faced – 12 players
25000+ Balls Faced – 6 players
30000+ Balls Faced – Rahul Dravid

Happy Birthday Rahul Dravid

— CricBeat (@Cric_beat) January 11, 2020

One of the underrated captains ever only because India lost in the group stage of 2007 WC.

– Test series win in WI.
– Test series win in ENG.
– Test win in PAK and SA (First time in the history)
– Chasing brand in ODI format. #HappyBirthdayRahulDravid https://t.co/9QN1Um6Ysu

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) January 11, 2020

The right-hander played 164 Tests, scoring 13,288 at an average of 52.31 with 36 centuries and 63 half-centuries to his name. He also took 210 catches in the longest format of the game and is regarded as one of the best slip fielders ever.

"Sachin is God.
Sourav is the God on the off side.
Laxman is the God of 4th innings.
But when the doors of a temple are closed, even the Gods are behind THE WALL".#HappyBirthdayRahulDravid #TheWall pic.twitter.com/0RdlXY6QqJ

— Yashas (@imyashas4) January 11, 2020

Dravid also made 344 appearances for India in ODIs, scoring 10,889 runs at an average of 39.16 with 12 hundreds and 83 fifties. He took 196 catches and affected 14 stumpings. The former India captain has also played one T20I.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_3Z6FDBPm4