.::*Happy birthdayTo The Great Wall of India-Rahul Dravid*::.

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On the day when Dravid announced his retirement from Tests I read a comment which goes like this"
"Walls don't retire, they turn into Monuments"

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"Try to take his wicket in the first 15 minutes, if you can't then only try to take the remaining wickets."
- Steve Waugh advising his bowlers on Rahul Dravid

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As is usual in India, they could name a street after Rahul Dravid. But then, the Americans have already done it. #Wall Street ! - Anonymous

Dravid's remarkable career is proof that nice guys don't finish last - Steve Waugh

He is truly the mainstay of the Indian batting. He is the best batsman of India in this era undoubtedly - Kapil Dev

Some succeeded because they are destined to, but he succeeded because he was Determined to - Navjot Singh Siddhu

The wolf who lived for the pack - Harsha Bhogle

He's probably the nicest guy. No, he is the nicest guy that I have met in cricket. He's a phenomenal man - Shane Watson

I've seen how Rahul goes about his innings & that's something I want to get myself involved with - Kevin Pietersen

He is regarded by the Australians as one of the mentally toughest players they have come up against. He is a tough task competitor. He is a wonderful cricketer for India, a great, great cricketer. - John Wright

Champion on and off the field, showed us with his great hard work, sky is the limit -Mahesh Bhupathi

Elegant at the crease, Eloquent in Retirement, thanks for the memories - ESPN

If a martian were to land on earth now and be told that the best batsman in the world was playing in this match, he would think it was Rahul Dravid and not Sachin Tendulkar - Christopher Martin-Jenkins

And this one is amazing "If Sachin is the Superman of Indian cricket universe, Rahul Dravid is The Dark Knight."

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He once said during the commentary when his peers were using words like war, revenge, destruction etc. for the game. On being asked about Indian team's strategy for a revenge, he quietly said War and Revenge should not be the words associated with cricket. Pride and dignity is what you should play for.

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"We are lucky that he had chosen cricket. He would have been successful in any field, given his methods." - Anonymous

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"If it's a batting beauty with the ball coming on to the bat, give me Sehwag or Laxman; if there's a truly great array of bowlers set to be unleashed, give me Tendulkar. If it's a minefield, give me Dravid."

- An excerpt from the article : Dravid and the mastery of the struggle

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"Even if my grandchildren don't remember the fact that I scored 10,000 runs in Test and ODI cricket, I am confident that they will remember that Sachin Tendulkar used to be my team-mate."
- Rahul Dravid

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"Its 0 A.D(After Dravid) in Indian cricket" after Dravid's Retirement..!!!

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Ask him to walk on water for his team and he will ask you how many miles..by Harsha Bhogle

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"Some are born to greatness. Rahul Dravid acquired it. In some ways that is the greater achievement" -Sambit Bal in Timeless Steel

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Rahul Dravid (on May 2nd 2013) : "I am very lucky that I had the talent to play cricket for this country. It is the number one sport in this country ... virtually a religion in this country and I feel privileged to have played for my country."

Fans: "Are you kidding? India was lucky to have a player like you."

(probably the only time in the history, someone disagreed with The Wall)

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Found these lines in book "Rahul Dravid, timeless steel":
His batting is, not for some, immediately appealing; It is like paintings, it required a second look, a considered appreciation. Soon its beauty is revealed, its simple elegance, its clean, classical lines, its divorce from awkwardness, its stylish symmetry. He plays to his own wondrous sheet music.

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Glenn McGrath once said that if there was one Indian player who could get a direct entry into the famous Australian team of the late 90s, it would be Rahul Dravid.

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"Have a dream." ~ Rahul Dravid (after winning the MTV Youth Icon of the Year.)

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"I think Dravid will be remembered as the last in a great tradition of batsmen whose instincts and temperament were perfectly suited to Test match cricket. It is not an exaggeration to say that a whole strand of the game - a rich vein that runs through the game's poetic heart - departs the scene with India's greatest ever No. 3."

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1st person: Sachin is God.
2nd person: If Sachin s God, then Ganguly is God on the off side.
3rd person: Then Laxman is God of 4th innings.
4th person Then, who is Dravid??
First 3 people together: When the doors of the temple are closed, even Gods are behind "The Wall" !!

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"Time and tide wait for nobody,except Rahul Dravid" - MTV India

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"The wall of Commitment, Consistency and Class!!"

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Harsha Bhogle comment on Dravid's Retirement:
"When i am done with my profession i wish i could go with the reputation that Rahul Dravid has"

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There are the Sachins, the Sehwags, the Laxmans and the Dhonis, but when it comes to playing the sheet anchor's role, and giving the innings the required solidity from one end (so that the batsman at the other end can play his strokes), the Indian team think-tank doesn't look beyond Rahul Dravid.

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I am aware that many people see Rahul and me as similar cricketers, I am flattered because it's good to be compared to a guy who has an average of over 57!.It's only now that people are recognising that Dravid has probably played more critical knocks than his great contemporaries'.""-Steve Waugh

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Playing a hundred Tests requires less time these days. Ten years ago only 16 players had got that far, there have been 20 since. And there are five others poised to join Rahul Dravid on that list. They are all special players, as Dravid is a special player. Only two batsmen in that list average less than 40. And only three more than 55, And nobody in that list averages more than Rahul Dravid. It is a staggering achievement for a lovely young man.

I remember talking to Rahul Dravid once and I said "What was the best way to beat Australia?"

And he said the best way to do it is to, in a sense, play to their arrogance.
Because once they are arrogant they will self-destruct and the only team that can beat Australia today in world cricket is Australia.

Truely "The Wall ""-Harsha Bhogle