The Significance of Dravid: A Statistical Look

Rahul Dravid's order among the greatest run-makers of all time
is often brought into question. There are those given to berating him for his conservative
methods of scoring.

His colleague, friend and rival Sourav Ganguly yesterday
said he wouldn't call Dravid a ‘great' in ODIs, but merely a very good player. In
the past, Ganguly had said he would rate Tendulkar, Gavaskar and Sehwag ahead
of Dravid in Test cricket.

So we ask a question.

What does Dravid mean to Indian cricket? We set out finding the
numbers which would determine where Dravid stands among the greats.

First, here's a list of the highest run-scorers in
international cricket. With 26,695 runs in Tests, ODIs and one T20I, Dravid is
only behind Tendulkar and Ponting.

It's no sin trailing those two geniuses of batting.

Better than Ganguly
in ODIs?

Is boundary-hitting over-rated? Ganguly also said Dravid didn't
have the six-hitting powers of Tendulkar, Sehwag and himself.

But since Dravid's ODI debut till the day we was dropped from
the ODI team (in 2007), Dravid's career strike-rate was only two points below Ganguly's.

Ganguly, by the way, was an opener who could use the
fielding restrictions for big-hitting.

Batting at 4 and 5 also reduces the possibility of making hundreds,
something which didn't hinder Ganguly's career.

Despite these obvious challenges, Dravid still is the third
highest scorer in the period mentioned.

Dravid's Replacements
in ODIs

During the latter days of his ODI career, Dravid often
occupied the No. 4 and 5 slots, which put the responsibility of finishing off the
innings on him. He thrived in the situation.

If there's any consolation you can take from his premature
departure from the ODI scene, it is this: all the other players at No. 4 and 5
have averaged better than Dravid.