Rahul Dravid's England Test tour in 2011 will go down in history books. India were horrible & Dravid was the opposite. Boycott famously said India played ‘like Bangladesh in disguise.’
But Dravid's ODI return & T20I debut on that tour is even more fascinating. #thread (1/n)
But Dravid's ODI return & T20I debut on that tour is even more fascinating. #thread (1/n)
Injuries in a disastrous Test series meant India were short of options for the LOIs. Who better then than their saviour so far on the tour to step in? Dravid was handed a shock recall to the ODI team and a surprising debut in T20Is. Remember, this was after the 2011 WC...
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Dravid hadn't played since 2009 in ODIs, when he was recalled in another crisis situation just before the CT2009.
He had missed the 2011 WC, and at that stage, at 38 years old, even Dravid hadn't expected this latest call-up in ODIs, let alone in T20Is.
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He had missed the 2011 WC, and at that stage, at 38 years old, even Dravid hadn't expected this latest call-up in ODIs, let alone in T20Is.
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The decision was slammed despite Dravid's incredible success on the Test tour. Understandably so.
Dravid wouldn't have lasted till the 2013CT and def not the 2015WC. It made little sense. But before the reactions could pile on, Dravid had an announcement to make.
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Dravid wouldn't have lasted till the 2013CT and def not the 2015WC. It made little sense. But before the reactions could pile on, Dravid had an announcement to make.
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Hours after he was handed the recall, Dravid announced he was retiring from ODIs and T20Is at the end of the series.
"To be honest, because I had not been picked, I had not informed the selectors or the board of my desire to solely focus on Tests." - Dravid said then.
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"To be honest, because I had not been picked, I had not informed the selectors or the board of my desire to solely focus on Tests." - Dravid said then.
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The team-man he was, Dravid stayed on for the limited-overs leg.
"In the short term I am committed because now I have been picked for the series, but in the long term I think it is best for me and Indian cricket that I focus on Test cricket."
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"In the short term I am committed because now I have been picked for the series, but in the long term I think it is best for me and Indian cricket that I focus on Test cricket."
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Dravid made his T20I debut, also his only T20I, later in the month, making 31 (21), notably hitting three sixes in succession off Samit Patel.
He bowed out from ODIs with a 69, making a 170-run stand with Kohli, his last partner at the crease in ODIs.
He bowed out from ODIs with a 69, making a 170-run stand with Kohli, his last partner at the crease in ODIs.
Will make a thread some other day on his ODI captaincy stint that is grossly misunderstood and written off for the 2007 WC disaster.
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