India's odd-jobs man

Whether he likes it or not, Rahul Dravid has always been India’s odd-jobs man, writes Aditya Iyer in the Indian Express. When push comes to shove — as it often has during Dravid’s time — the best in the business does the dirty work.

No other great No.3 has suffered as much as Dravid. Out of Ricky Ponting, Don Bradman, Viv Richards and Jacques Kallis, the West Indian is the only one to have opened — and he did so just twice. Dravid has opened 21 times, averaging just 36 at the position.

VVS Laxman said early in his career that he would rather face the second ball of the day than open the innings — the mindset is supposedly starkly different. The point was well taken by the team management. At the fag end of a 15-year career, Dravid still awaits his turn.