‘If Sachin can be told to play faster, what about me?’: Former India star shares Rahul Dravid’s candid worry

RP Singh shares a funny tale about Rahul Dravid's candid worry. (Photo: X)

Former India bowler RP Singh recently recalled an incident that drew a parallel in the batting of legends Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. When Sachin received unusual criticism from the fans during an India match, Dravid, who was watching at the time, couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark about it.

In the latest episode of JioHotstar’s special ‘Cheeky Singles’, Singh recounted a 1999 Ranji Trophy match in which he and Dravid played, with Dravid scoring 199. That evening, while having dinner at a friend’s place, they watched Sachin bat at a run-a-ball in an India match—drawing unusual criticism from fans for being too slow. The reaction made Dravid remark that if even Sachin wasn’t spared for such an innings, he could only imagine the crowd’s reaction to his own batting.

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"There was a Ranji Trophy match going on in Meerut, Karnataka vs Uttar Pradesh. Rahul Dravid bhai had come to play and scored 199 runs. That night, we went to dinner at someone’s house. India’s match was going on that day, and Sachin paaji was batting. He was playing a run-a-ball innings. We were both sitting on the side, and people were saying, ‘Sachin should play a little faster.’ But he was playing according to the situation of the match. Rahul bhai whispered in my ear, ‘If they are saying so much to him, then how much would they have said to me?’"

Singh did not specify which India match he was referring to in his remarks, though.

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For those unfamiliar, Dravid—famously dubbed “The Wall” for his rock-solid defence—once endured an astonishing spell of 40 consecutive dot balls before scoring a single run during the 2008 Test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).

When he finally got off the mark, the SCG crowd rose to their feet in a warm standing ovation for that lone run. In classic Dravid fashion, he responded by raising his bat, as if he had just reached a half-century.