Indian batsman Rahul Dravid has announced his retirement from international cricket at the age of 39, ending a 16-year career that made him an idol at home and abroad. "It is time to move on and let a new generation of players make their own history," Dravid told reporters today at a crowded news conference in Bangalore alongside Indian cricket board president Narayanaswamy Srinivasan. The stylish batsman is the number two run-getter in Test cricket behind compatriot Sachin Tendulkar, with 13,288 runs from 164 matches at an average of 52.31 with 36 centuries.
"When I started, I could never imagine that this long journey will take me so far," Dravid said. "In the Indian team I was fortunate to be part of a wonderful era. "Many of my teammates have become legends, not just in India but in the wider world... I leave the game with wonderful memories and great friendships."
The man known as "the Wall" for his immaculate technique, is also one of only 10 batsmen to score more than 10,000 runs in one-day cricket, which he quit last year to prolong his Test career. His one-day tally stands at 10,889 runs from 344 matches at an average of 39.16 with 12 centuries. Srinivasan called Dravid "one of the finest cricketers India has ever produced" and a "great role model".
"I would echo everyone's praise when we say 'Thank you Rahul. Thank you for what you have given to Indian cricket and we wish you very, very well'," he told reporters. Dravid's retirement puts the focus on Tendulkar, 39 next month, and Venkatsai Laxman, 37, both of whom are under pressure to consider their future after the team's recent disastrous tour of Australia.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men, who won the limited-overs World Cup in April last year, crashed to a 4-0 Test defeat against Australia after a similar whitewash in England last year where they also failed to win the one-day series. Dravid was one of few players to emerge with any credit after the tour of England where he defied the years to crack three centuries in four Tests.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan and batsman Kevin Pietersen led an outpouring of tributes worldwide to one of the game's leading ambassadors, with both of them calling him a "legend" on Twitter. "The world's most respected cricketer over the last 20 yrs," Vaughan wrote. "Rahul Dravid-legend!! Plain & simple," said Pietersen. "India will miss The Wall."
Dravid's unhappy Australia tour will mark his last appearances in an Indian shirt where he managed just 194 runs in eight innings. He was bowled six times, indicating perhaps that his reflexes were slowing down. "I had thought about it (retiring) even before the tour of Australia," he said. "I knew in my heart... I knew deep down that the time was right. For the past year, I had assessed my future after every series.
"My approach to cricket has been reasonably simple it was about giving everything to the team, it was about playing with dignity and it was about upholding the spirit of the game. "I hope I have done some of that. I have failed at times, but I have never stopped trying. It's why I leave with sadness, but also with pride." Dravid will continue playing in the lucrative Indian Premier League Twenty20 event where he will lead Rajasthan Royals this year after the retirement of Australian spin legend Shane Warne.
