Former India's head coach and captain Rahul Dravid revealed what led to his retirement from international cricket. India's legendary batter retired after an illustrious career spanning 164 matches, 13,288 runs, and 36 centuries. While many cricketers struggle to leave the game, Dravid's decision was clear and decisive. During a conversation with R Ashwin, Dravid revealed that a single poor series was enough for him to decide it was time to move on.
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Rahul Dravid on his retirement decision
Dravid, who was still performing well at 38, shared that a key factor in his decision was his body's ability to recover. In the past, he had spoken about the difficulty of recuperating after long, grueling days on the field. This physical strain began to affect both his batting and his fielding. A dropped catch, in particular, was a pivotal moment for him. As one of the finest slip fielders of all time, the uncharacteristic mistake brought the idea of retirement into his mind. This echoes the sentiment of former Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist, who also retired after dropping a straightforward catch, highlighting a shared standard of excellence among top-tier athletes.
Following a question from Ashwin about the exact moment he decided to retire, Dravid responded with a touch of humor, sharing the specific event that triggered his decision.
“Yes, when I dropped the catch off your bowling of Michael Hussey at the MCG. It was one of the easiest catches I have ever dropped in my life,” Dravid said.
“I don’t think that was the moment. But you know that it’s time to move on. I knew after the end of the series but didn’t want to make an emotional decision,” he further added.
The 52-year-old also admitted that he was aware of the emerging talent pool, including future stars like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, and Cheteshwar Pujara, when considering his retirement. While Rohit and Rahane had yet to make their Test debuts, Kohli and Pujara were already making a significant impact. Kohli notably scored a century in Dravid's final Test match, and Pujara had already notched up three hundreds in his first nine matches, signaling a bright future for Indian cricket.
“I could see a lot of young players coming through. People like Virat and Rohit were coming. Virat just had a great series. Rohit hadn’t played a Test match in that series. Puji had gotten some runs but was coming back from an ACL injury. Rahane was doing well. There were 4-5 guys coming through, and I could see that they were going to be the next generation of young Indian cricketers. I felt I had done my time, played as much as I could, and taken the team as far as I could. Losing 0-4 in England and Australia doesn’t help either,” Dravid concluded.