Former India captain and arguably one of the finest batters in international cricket, Rahul Dravid is known for his cool and calm demeanour both on and off the field. Not only for his splendid batting skills, but Dravid is also hugely respected among the cricket fraternity for the ability to control his emotions irrespective of the situation of the game.
However, there was one moment when even a player like Dravid lost his cool. The incident happened in the 2014 Indian Premier League (IPL) when he was the mentor of the Rajasthan Royals (RR). It was the last league game of the season between RR and Mumbai Indians (MI) at the iconic Wankhede Stadium.
In order to qualify for the playoffs and show RR the exit route, MI needed to chase down the massive target of 190 within 14.3 overs. The Rohit Sharma-led side came out all guns blazing and reached 189 to tie the score in 14.3 overs.
Everyone thought RR had safely managed to book a place in the playoffs, but another update came that if MI hit a six on the next delivery (14.4), then their score will be 195, and they will get past the net run rate of Royals to qualify for the knockout stage. Unfortunately for RR, MI batter Aditya Tare managed to hit a six on the next delivery, and the Royals were knocked out of the competition.
No wonder this made Dravid, who was sitting in the dugout, furious as he stood up and threw his cap in anger. Recalling the same episode in a video shared by Cred on their YouTube channel, Dravid said it wasn’t one of his proudest moments as he always tried to control his emotions.
“Not one of my proudest moments, but I have always tried to be someone able to manage (his) emotions and control his emotions. The thing with international cricket is there’s always a lot of pressure on you. There’s a lot of eyeballs, a lot of focus on everything you do, all your actions both on and off the field. I think one of the ways to really be your best is to be able to maybe, like we say, shut out the noise,” explained Dravid.
The 48-year-old also revealed a few other instances in the past where he had lost his cool but only in the dressing room.
“It’s not the first time it’s happened to me; it does happen. It was the first time it had happened publicly. Other times it might have happened in the privacy of the dressing room (smiles),” added Dravid.
