ESPNcricinfo's Rahul Dravid "Timeless Steel" is a must have for all Rahul Sharad Dravid fans as it not only reveals lesser known facets and traits of Rahul Sharad Dravid the man and the cricketer, but also demystifies the enigma who was always a man of a few words and an ardent practitioner of the dictum that long drawn out silences are far more eloquent than a few words........
Essentially a collection or anthology of articles or pieces on Dravid by such notables as Sambit Bal, Sanjay Bangar, Aakash Chopra, Sanjay Manjrekar, John Wright, Greg Chappell, Vijeeta Dravid, Gideon Haigh, Mukul Kesavan, Fazal Khaleel and such other authors of rare eminence; the book is sub divided into five sections each with a collection of articles of it's very own........
The sub divisions or separate sections are entitled: The Cricketer, In the Words of his Peers, The Great Innings, The Man and the Interviews and also contains the unabridged version of the epochal speech that Dravid made during the course of the Bradman memorial, one may well remember that the same fetched him a standing ovation that lasted for nearly ten minutes and was also lauded as one the most insightful blueprints for the future.........
My personal favourites amongst the thirty odd short dedications to an cricketing immortal are: The Man who Acquired Greatness by Sambit Bal, The Grit to be Great by Sanjay Manjrekar, A cricketer most evolved by Aakash Chopra, The rock around whom the rest moved by John Wright, The eternal student by Greg Chappell, The master will see you now (and always) by Suresh Raina, I didn't beat him more than a ball in a row by Jason Gillespie, and last but not the least, My husband the perfectionist by Vijeeta Dravid.........
A few lesser known facts about Dravid such as: of the 210 catches ensnared by Dravid during the course of his long and illustrious test career, more than half were off the bowling of Anil Kumble (55 catches) and Harbhajan Singh (51 catches), Dravid scored six test centuries in England; only one less than one Sunil Manohar Gavaskar who holds the Indian record for scoring seven centuries against the West Indians in West Indies.........
Or for that matter the fact that Dravid became the second oldest batsman to score 1000 or more test runs in a calendar year at the age of 39 plus when he scored 1145 runs during the calendar year 2011, only the one and only cricketing god Sir Donald Bradman surpassed this feat by having scored 1025 test runs during the calendar year 1948 when he was a few days short of his fortieth birthday........
Sink your teeth into this rare fact; In an One Day International (ODI) against South Africa in Kochi in the year 2000, Dravid outbowled Kumble, taking 2 for 43 against Kumble's 0/48. Three of the four wickets that Dravid took while bowling in ODI's were of South Africans- Shaun Pollock, Gary Kirsten and Lance Klusener; the only other wicket that he dismissed in ODI's was the Pakistani opener Saeed Anwar.........
A vivid collection of both sepia tinted black and white photographs as well as state of the art colour photographs that trace Dravid's journey from early childhood to his retirement not only add to the face value and overall standard of this epochal volume but also make this cricketing idol that much more human and approachable, the photos underline the fact that Dravid is just like you and me, it is only his determination to succeed against seemingly insurmountable odds and sheer grit that make him the greatest ever Indian test batsman of all time.......
I would be the first one to admit that the book is a tad expensive at it's cover price off Rs. 599?- but it's excellent production values, rare and insightful photographs as well as anthology of dedications that demystify and unmask the enigma that Dravid is more than offset the rather prohibitive cover price..........
If you are as big a Dravid fan as I am then no reason on earth could stop you from laying you hands on this collectors edition; if the price is still stopping you in your tracks, fear not Flipkart offers this very same edition at a heftily discounted price provided you order your copy of the same without any further ado........
SO what on earth are you waiting for?????pick up either your mobile phone or order the same online at once: Happy Reading.........
Essentially a collection or anthology of articles or pieces on Dravid by such notables as Sambit Bal, Sanjay Bangar, Aakash Chopra, Sanjay Manjrekar, John Wright, Greg Chappell, Vijeeta Dravid, Gideon Haigh, Mukul Kesavan, Fazal Khaleel and such other authors of rare eminence; the book is sub divided into five sections each with a collection of articles of it's very own........
The sub divisions or separate sections are entitled: The Cricketer, In the Words of his Peers, The Great Innings, The Man and the Interviews and also contains the unabridged version of the epochal speech that Dravid made during the course of the Bradman memorial, one may well remember that the same fetched him a standing ovation that lasted for nearly ten minutes and was also lauded as one the most insightful blueprints for the future.........
My personal favourites amongst the thirty odd short dedications to an cricketing immortal are: The Man who Acquired Greatness by Sambit Bal, The Grit to be Great by Sanjay Manjrekar, A cricketer most evolved by Aakash Chopra, The rock around whom the rest moved by John Wright, The eternal student by Greg Chappell, The master will see you now (and always) by Suresh Raina, I didn't beat him more than a ball in a row by Jason Gillespie, and last but not the least, My husband the perfectionist by Vijeeta Dravid.........
A few lesser known facts about Dravid such as: of the 210 catches ensnared by Dravid during the course of his long and illustrious test career, more than half were off the bowling of Anil Kumble (55 catches) and Harbhajan Singh (51 catches), Dravid scored six test centuries in England; only one less than one Sunil Manohar Gavaskar who holds the Indian record for scoring seven centuries against the West Indians in West Indies.........
Or for that matter the fact that Dravid became the second oldest batsman to score 1000 or more test runs in a calendar year at the age of 39 plus when he scored 1145 runs during the calendar year 2011, only the one and only cricketing god Sir Donald Bradman surpassed this feat by having scored 1025 test runs during the calendar year 1948 when he was a few days short of his fortieth birthday........
Sink your teeth into this rare fact; In an One Day International (ODI) against South Africa in Kochi in the year 2000, Dravid outbowled Kumble, taking 2 for 43 against Kumble's 0/48. Three of the four wickets that Dravid took while bowling in ODI's were of South Africans- Shaun Pollock, Gary Kirsten and Lance Klusener; the only other wicket that he dismissed in ODI's was the Pakistani opener Saeed Anwar.........
A vivid collection of both sepia tinted black and white photographs as well as state of the art colour photographs that trace Dravid's journey from early childhood to his retirement not only add to the face value and overall standard of this epochal volume but also make this cricketing idol that much more human and approachable, the photos underline the fact that Dravid is just like you and me, it is only his determination to succeed against seemingly insurmountable odds and sheer grit that make him the greatest ever Indian test batsman of all time.......
I would be the first one to admit that the book is a tad expensive at it's cover price off Rs. 599?- but it's excellent production values, rare and insightful photographs as well as anthology of dedications that demystify and unmask the enigma that Dravid is more than offset the rather prohibitive cover price..........
If you are as big a Dravid fan as I am then no reason on earth could stop you from laying you hands on this collectors edition; if the price is still stopping you in your tracks, fear not Flipkart offers this very same edition at a heftily discounted price provided you order your copy of the same without any further ado........
SO what on earth are you waiting for?????pick up either your mobile phone or order the same online at once: Happy Reading.........
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