It has been nine years since Rahul Dravid retired from international cricket, but he’s still one of the most loved players in the history of the game; not just in India but globally. Hailed as ‘The Wall’- Dravid needs no Introduction.
Rahul Dravid made his international debut in 1996 and retired in 2012 with 24,208 runs, including 48 centuries. Under his captaincy, the Indian Cricket Team played 62 One Day Internationals and 20 Test Matches.
Not just because he’s a cricketer, he was also loved for the calm and poised man he is. He is someone who believed in the talents of the young-budding cricketers in India. After his retirement, he decided to coach the junior sides (India U19 and India A). Rahul Dravid quotes have inspired the youngsters a lot.
After India registered a historic win over Australia at the Gabba on January 24, 2021, Dravid started trending on Twitter. Without their experienced players and the odds against them, the young Indian team snatched the victory of the Australian team to retain the Border-Gavaskar trophy, which was Australia's first loss in 32 years at the Gabba.
We all know why Dravid was at the top of the trending list because nobody could have believed that a young Indian team would emerge as match-winners, but Dravid did! He inspires people to chase their dreams without taking any shortcuts and also take up cricket as their sport.
Here’s a list of 40 Rahul Dravid quotes by the legend himself, that’ll leave you motivated and lighten a spark inside you especially for those who love and admire the game of cricket.
1. “I’m good at figuring out what I’m not good at and I try not to do that.”
Always try to figure out what you’re good at and do them, rather than doing or forcing yourself to do something that you’re not good at.
2. “I’ve been able to learn and observe from watching other people and just the experiences.”
Try to learn the positive qualities of people by observing them. It helps you grow as a better person.
3. “Experience is not playing more matches, experience is learning from matches you play.”
You become good at something by doing it again and again. Just doing it once, won’t be any good for you.
4. “The people who improve, The people who get better are the ones who learn from every game, to get to know themselves better.”
Learn from your mistakes and try to improve. Getting better has no limits.
5. “There are opportunities to learn, there are memories to make, there are friendships to make.”
In the journey of life, you learn a lot of things, meet new people and make memories together that are worth cherishing for the rest of your life.
6. “You need to understand your personality as well, you need to know what makes you succeed, you need to know what situations do you feel nervous in, you need to grow as people.”
Learn yourself well. Know what helps you succeed and what makes you nervous. Knowing your strength and flaws makes you a better person.
7. “I love batting and especially when I batted I really enjoyed batting for long periods of time.”
Those who’ve watched Rahul Dravid bat need no explanation for this quote. He’s known for playing long innings and tiring the opposition and that’s what he enjoyed the most.
8. “I guess if you get labelled as a "good boy" or get labelled as someone who does everything correctly when you make one mistake then that gets highlighted even more.”
Earning a good name takes a lot of time and hard work. But one mistake is enough to take that away and it gets highlighted more than the good things you’ve done.
9. “I was a little more analytical and had a bit more thought process about things.”
It’s always better to think and process things rather than quickly jumping to conclusions.
10. “Like I said, the image of Kapil Dev lifting the trophy is an iconic image for a lot of us. Just as Dhoni hitting that six on that last ball inspired another incredible generation of kids.”
We’ve just got to agree with Dravid here. There are no two better pictures in the history of Indian Cricket; Kapil Dev lifting the World Cup in 1983 and Dhoni’s World cup winning six in 2011. These images inspire the young generation to chase their dreams and make them happen.
11. “You can actually do and try things and you can build things without having to, you know, constantly be in that run of trying to produce results.”
If you’re looking for results in your favour, you need to put the required work into it. And that happens with constant hard work.
12. “It took me almost five years of first-class cricket to break into International cricket and then play for India. It felt like "Wow! I have really worked hard for this".
This quote by Dravid tells us that success takes time to come for sure. Trust the process and go-ahead. Finally, you’ll reach your destiny.
13. “You can actually do and try things and you can build things without having to, you know, constantly be in that run of trying to produce results.”
Don’t worry about the results. Just do what you have to do and you’ll get the desired results that you’ve been looking for!
14. “If you don't ask for the best, you don't get it.”
Always aim for the best. Unless you don't aim or try for the best, you don’t achieve it. Your hands draft your future.
15. “You don't play for revenge. You play for respect and pride.”
One of the best Rahul Dravid quotes! When you represent your country against another country, you don’t play to take revenge for the way they outplayed you the last time but for respect and pride. When you go out there, representing the country, you're also representing 1.3 billion people.
16. “You get an image in the first couple of years of your career, and then whether you like it or not, you are stuck with it for the rest of your life.”
The way you approach things or the way to deal with it initially defines who you are and when once that image is created about you in people’s minds, then it’s really hard to change it; you’re stuck with it.
17. “A career in sport is almost impossible to manage without the support, and guidance, and reassurance of family and friends. During tough times, and there always are, this is whom we go to.”
This quote by Rahul Dravid is a fact. The hard work put in is by you, but the people who support you and always will be there to guide you are your parents, friends, and family. They’re the ones we run to if we’re having a bad day.
18. “There are so many fans and so many people who care deeply about this game, and it is because of these fans that we are who we are as cricketers.”
There is no complication to understand this quote. Cricket is loved by millions of people in the world and their love and the support they show filling up stadiums to cheer their team makes cricketers who they are!
19. “I think credibility, irrespective of what you do, if you are in public life, then it is important.”
Being credited for what you do is important, especially when you live in front of the public eye.
20. “What drew me towards team sport were the camaraderie and friendship. The chance to celebrate victory and success with a group of other people is something I have enjoyed doing.”
Team sports always involve the understanding you have with your teammates. No team sport is won alone. It requires the effort of all the players. And teammates you spend a lot of time with on and off the field and with whom you celebrate your victories, turn out to be your friends for life!
21. “No dream is ever chased alone.”
Another beautiful quote by The Wall. In the journey of reaching your destiny, you are supported by people. If not people, you’re family and friends are always there for you and have your back in this journey.
22. “I was in the hockey team in school, played football. One of the challenges for me was to make the team feel better. It helped me evolve, so batting at different positions was never a problem.”
By this quote, Dravid means that we don’t grow when things are easy. We grow when we face more and more challenges. It makes us strong as an individual.
23. “It's impossible to know the whole world and it's impossible to get everything gets that much information it's only through books and to read about things that you're able to look at situations through other people's eyes and understand what it's like.”
The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go. But that’s not enough to know the whole world. For that, you need to learn from situations and understand what’s it like.
24. “I think reading does help in the sense that it opens your eyes up to so many things and, so much that you could learn about things.”
The simplest explanation for this quote is, Reading is the skill that makes all other learning possible.
25. “Young boys and girls who follow the sport and in a way it's a privilege right. You're doing something you love, it's really a hobby for you it's probably started off like it did for me as a hobby.”
Just like how the old saying goes, doing what you love is where happiness lies and if you’re not doing it then you’re wasting time!
26. “There are the financial benefits that you get from the sport today and the life and the living that has to be made from the sport but it's certainly more than that.”
Another amazing quote by Rahul Dravid. Being a sportsperson is not that easy. Yes, there are financial benefits you get from it, but to be a player that people will remember for a long time you need to give our 101% effort every time you get on the field.
27. “I think sports obviously just more than the winning and the losing, so it's a lot more than that and I think as you play a lot more of it, kind of reflect on that a lot more, yes, there's the winning and there's the losing”
Sports is mostly mental! It’s more about how you carry yourself throughout the game. And yes when you play a lot and for a long time, you realize it’s more than winning and losing. It’s more about emotions!
28. “Sometimes the competition is so much. You don't want anything to affect your mental space and gives you the best chance to succeed. And, I think if you are in this space, you can't only get praised, right?”
Don’t overthink the competition. Just keep doing what you’re good at, and you’ll succeed. Just don’t get carried away by the competition around you because it can negatively affect your process.
29. “Self-belief and hard work will always earn you success.”
Does this quote need any explanation? Self-belief and hard work will always earn you success, more than you can ever imagine!
30. “I think there was nothing that gave me more disappointment than dropping a catch on a cricket field. I think because you just felt that you let somebody down.”
Typical Rahul Dravid! He was one of the best slip fielders in the history of the game. It was a rare sight to see him dropping a catch. This quote makes a lot of sense. A bowler puts his effort to take a wicket and when you miss an opportunity created for you, it’s like letting the bowler and the team down.
31. “I always made an effort to work really hard on my slip catching and ensure that I gave myself the best chance to take every single catch that came my way”
Dravid just inspires us so to better every day. He is an example of a man who is ready for any opportunity that knocks on his door and that is why he is a successful man!
32. “One of the things I would do is before a test match or even before every day's play so just actually sit down for say half an hour or so and actually just think about the next day's play. “
In cricket, especially in a Test Match, you either run the day or the day runs you. This quote clearly states that it’s important to plan for the next day so that you’ll be prepared for it.
33. “I think that's a great thing about sport, at least it has been for me, it's given me great experiences both good and bad, it's allowed me to hopefully grow as a person.”
Like a coin, even life has two sides. There will be good and bad days and experiences. But the thing that matters the most is what you learn from it. That helps you grow and evolve as a better person.
34. “I have the kind of personality that I always look ahead than look at what’s happened. It does help a lot, especially when you’ve done badly or you’ve failed. It’s instinctive of me that I look at what’s next, I look ahead a lot, and start preparing for that, in victory and in defeat.”
Doesn’t Rahul Dravid just give us positive vibes? Don’t let the shadows of your past darken your days ahead. Forget everything except what you’re going to do to overcome it and then do it.
35. “Reading allows me to recharge my batteries.”
This is something that we’ve been hearing since we were kids. Reading books just takes your imagination to the next level and help you to think big!
36. “Sometimes fitness is a good thing to have, but you have to recognize that fitness takes you only so far, and skills are the most important thing. Fitness just helps you execute those cricketing skills for longer and more consistently, maybe.”
In a game like Cricket, fitness is important. But more than that skills are important. But to acquire skills, it might take a very long time and hard work but that is what you’ll be known for.
37. “I have failed many times, but I never stopped trying.”
This is why Rahul Dravid is the greatest of all time. From this quote, it’s quite clear that keep trying hard no matter how many times you have failed. If you fail, don’t lose hope. Get up and start trying again. Your success will come expectedly!
38. “There are choices to make and someone will be unlucky. That is how life is.”
Life is just like an experiment. Sometimes you don’t get the results that you were hoping for. That’s how life is. Just hold on to hope.
39. “You can't be taking every opinion seriously.”
This quote from Rahul Dravid inspires us to be better person. People are going to have their opinions, but it depends on us whether we take it seriously or not. Don’t let someone else’s opinion define you!
40. “During pressure situations, it is important to have confidence in your ability.”
Never doubt your abilities. Have confidence in your abilities and just do it the right way. That’ll be enough when the situation gets tough.
These Rahul Dravid quotes just inspires us to chase our dreams and become a better person. On the journey of reaching your destiny, you’ll be thrown a lot of challenges. Be strong, learn from your mistakes and flaws and move ahead because that is what truly makes us humans.
‘The Wall’ taught us a lot of things with his quotes. If you want to be successful in life, there are a lot of sacrifices you need to make. You might fail a lot of times but get up and work even harder.
Whenever you’re in search of motivation or inspiration, or if you’re working hard to make cricket your profession, you’re always welcome to come back to our page and read these Rahul Dravid quotes!
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