Rahul Dravid outdid Sachin at times despite not being as gifted, notes Ramiz Raja

So often talented batsmen get lost in the shuffle when they are in a team of other great batsmen but Rahul Dravid ensured that was never going to be the case. When the Karnataka lad made his Test debut in 1996, Sachin was already a mega-star but Dravid dug deep and created a unique identity for himself, to the extent that he made several experts argue if he was India’s greatest ever, when he hung up his boots in 2012. 

Dravid, eventually, finished his Test career with a remarkable 13,288 runs to his name and, according to Ramiz Raja, these are figures that need appreciation. Ramiz stated that it would have been easy for Dravid to have been bogged down by Sachin’s presence and added that ‘The Wall’ deserves credit for competing toe-to-toe with the Master Blaster - and sometimes even outdoing him - despite not having the same natural gift.

“Maybe Rahul Dravid wasn’t as gifted as Sachin Tendulkar but to survive and compete with a great cricketer takes a lot of you. You know you’ve tried your best which is still not good enough to be the best batsman in the team and that can put you down,” ex-Pakistan skipper Ramiz Raja was quoted as saying by Sportskeeda, reported Times Now.

“But credit to Rahul Dravid, for at times outdoing Sachin Tendulkar. He was an extremely good batsman on a tough pitch because his defence was rock solid. And he had a great attitude as well at that pivotal No. 3 position and keeping as well.”

Raja, who never got to play a Test against Dravid despite only finishing his career in 1997, claimed that Dravid was the kind of batsman whose performance always demanded respect. Raja said that the fact that the Indian dressing room had blind faith on the right-hander to always rescue the team out of trouble spoke volumes of Dravid’s greatness.

“You’d always respect Rahul Dravid. The greatness of a player is judged in the dressing room. If the team feels he will not let them down in a tough situation, for a gritty 30 or a 50, that’s what matters.”