Rahul Dravid had more impact than Sachin Tendulkar, says Aakash Chopra

Considered as one of the last classical Test batsmen in history, Rahul Dravid’s rise in international cricket was more methodical than meteoric. Sheer hard work and the constant push for improvement made him the man that served India for almost 16 years. Gifted with an orthodox batting technique, Dravid held the Indian batting lineup together for a long time allowing the others to play freely.

One of the 61 stories in the book, Chopra discusses the impact of Rahul Dravid on matches despite Sachin Tendulkar ultimately winning them for India.

“In terms of Test cricket, Rahul Dravid is rated ahead of Tendulkar. In the 1990s, when Sachin was just the lone ranger, nobody was supporting him. If I have to put it this way, Sachin never had Rahul to support him to win matches, but Rahul always had Sachin to support him to win matches,” wrote Chopra.

Chopra further went on to say that Rahul Dravid also helped stabilize the team after they found themselves under pressure on multiple occasions. According to Chopra, Dravid was the main reason behind Tendulkar’s carefree approach to win the game for India.

“Rahul absorbed more pressure because batting at No 3 and No 4 are two different things. So Rahul was invariably batting at 10 for one and had Viru (Virender Sehwag) for company. By the time Sachin came in it’s just that the pressure was not the same all the time. Also, Rahul’s overseas performances have been the clincher,” Chopra added.