Two legendary cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid represented Indian cricket for a long time together. Dravid later became the coach of the national team. He said that he regrets the fun experience of that time and a piece of advice from Sachin even after 14 years. Dravid was reportedly out due to a mistake by his teammate.
India lost the Test series against England 4-0 in 2011. Dravid performed well on that tour for the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led team. He scored 461 runs in 8 innings. This is the highest among Indians. That run could have been increased even more. But the former Indian captain gave some responsibility to Sachin for the failure. Recently, Rahul Dravid spoke on Ravichandran Ashwin’s podcast show ‘Kutti Stories’ on various issues.
Referring to one of Sachin’s suggestions, Dravid said, ‘About the Edgbaston Test (in the 2011 England tour). I made a big mistake by not using the DRS. I missed Jimmy Anderson when I tried to hit a shot. Then I heard a ‘tuk’ sound in my ear. But I didn’t feel anything with the bat.’ Responding to Anderson’s call, umpire Simon Taufel decided to give Dravid out. So Dravid also had some hesitation, ‘Tofel is a good enough umpire. When he makes a decision, it is difficult to challenge it. So I went to Sachin on the other end to seek advice.’
That was the moment of regret for Dravid. He said, ‘Sachin told me, “Rahul, there was a loud noise coming from the bat. I think the ball hit the bat.'” So I thought that might be it. I was wrong. I wanted to watch the replay of that out as soon as I got back to the dressing room. Seeing what the commentators were saying – the bat was basically hit by a shoelace. That’s why the sound came to my ears. In other words, the ball didn’t touch the bat in any way.’
Another interesting incident came up in the Ashwin-Dravid discussion. India-Australia were playing the Border-Gavaskar series in 2023. A video of Ashwin talking to Aussie cricketers came to light during the series. Referring to it, Dravid said, “You also coached the Australian team. A clip was sent to me. Unfortunately, it was in Tamil (language). As far as I understand, you were teaching the Australians how to play spin in the middle of the series. At that time, I was thinking, Ash (what are you doing), the series is not over yet!”
Ashwin also clarified the matter, ‘If I really knew, I would have told our boys how to play spin first. Why tell the Australians?’ Dravid then jokingly said, ‘I had to listen to the scolding then, “Ashwin is coaching better than you, what are you doing?”’” Hearing which both of them laughed. Ashwin then said, ‘In the Indore Test, he (Mitchell Starc) gave a bouncer once, which I let go. At that time, we were 80/7 (score). On the way to lunch, Starc was walking with me, when he said, ‘Shall I tell you how to play bouncers, just like you have shown in your YouTube video?’
To which Dravid, surprised, said, ‘It’s good to know that Starc knows Tamil! Or the Australians got a Tamil boy to translate it.’ Later, Ashwin, however, hinted that the subtitles of the video might have helped them.
FAQ
What incident is Rahul Dravid referring to from the 2011 England tour?
Dravid recalled the Edgbaston Test where he was given out after a misunderstanding with DRS, leading him to seek Sachin Tendulkar’s advice.
What advice did Sachin Tendulkar give Rahul Dravid?
Sachin told Dravid that the sound he heard might indicate the ball hit the bat, but it turned out the sound came from a shoelace, not the bat.
Why does Dravid consider this moment memorable?
It was a moment of regret because the advice seemed correct at the time, but later Dravid realized it was a misunderstanding that cost him runs.
How did Dravid react to Sachin’s advice?
Dravid initially trusted Sachin’s guidance, but after reviewing the replay in the dressing room, he found that the ball had not touched the bat.
