When Sachin Tendulkar said that there was and is one Rahul Dravid and that he would miss Dravid in the dressing room, the Little Master wasn’t exaggerating.
Rahul Dravid has been one of the pillars of Indian cricket since over a decade and there is no denying the fact that there can be ‘no other’ cricketer like him. Not only the players who have shared the dressing room with ‘The Wall’, but even rivals and former greats of Indian cricket have acknowledged the fact that Rahul is a living legend and has served Indian cricket like none other before.
Shane Watson, Austrlia’s stan-in captain and Dravid team-mate in IPL, paid tributes to the legend by describing him as a phenomenal man and the nicest guy he has ever met in cricket “I've been very lucky to have a really good association with Rahul. He's probably the nicest guy that I've met in cricket. He's a phenomenal man,” Watson said, adding that Dravid loved the game with so much passion.
“It's in his blood and in his heart. He is certainly going to be sorely missed by the Indian public and the cricket loving public as well," Watson was quoted as saying by the 'Sydney Morning Herald'.
Meanwhile, Ajit Wadekar said that Rahul was like the Great Wall of China for the Indian team and it cannot be created again. “He was an absolutely complete cricketer with tremendous concentration and dedication. He had a great technique,” said Wadekar.
Nari Contrator said that Rahul will go down as among the very best India has produced. “Rahul has been next only to Sachin in everything (in the number of runs scored in Tests and number of centuries). He has made runs when they mattered most for the team. What more would you have expected from him,” Contractor said, adding that people should not forget the number of catches he has taken (mostly in the slip cordon). “He has been one of the most outstanding cricketers from India in all respects. His contribution to Indian cricket has been huge and can never be forgotten,” he added.
Meanwhile, Tendulkar said that no tribute can be enough for Rahul Dravid. "I have shared the best moments with him. Our many century partnerships are testimony to the hours we spent together in the middle. For someone who has played 164 matches and over 13000 runs, no tribute can be enough."
