"Happy Birthday Jam"- Cricket fraternity extends special wishes as Rahul Dravid turns 50

The cricket community extended warm wishes to Team India head coach Rahul Dravid as he turned 50 on January 11. The legendary batter retired from international cricket in 2012 after a 16-year storied career.

Dravid played 509 international games during his career and amassed a whopping 24,208 runs, including 48 centuries. He also holds the record for playing the highest number of balls in Test cricket history with 31,258. His several iconic patient innings at the number three position for India in Test cricket earned him the nickname 'The Wall' from the fans.

He joined the Indian cricket team support staff as the head coach after Ravi Shastri's departure following the 2021 T20 World Cup. His tenure began on a positive note, but there was some turbulence last year as Team India ended up losing both the Asia Cup and T20 World Cup in 2022.

He will be hoping for better results this year with the all-important ODI World Cup scheduled at home in October.

On the occasion of Rahul Dravid's 50th birthday, his former teammates and other members of the cricket fraternity were quick to wish him well on social media. Here are some of the wishes:

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"Rahul Dravid told me to play my natural game"- Shubman Gill on Head coach's advise ahead of 1st ODI vs Sri Lanka

Team India opener Shubman Gill was elated after receiving the support and backing of captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid. Ahead of the first ODI against Sri Lanka, Indian team management were in a selection dilemma on choosing the opening partner for Rohit Sharma.

They eventually gave Shubman Gill the nod and benched Ishan Kishan, who hit a double century in his previous ODI. Gill repaid the faith by hitting a fluent half-century.

At a post-match press conference after the first ODI on January 10, Shubman Gill expressed gratitude and said:

“Feels good when your captain backs you. This was the conversation we had during practice as well. He (Rohit) told me that I will be playing and Rahul Dravid bhai told me to play my natural game - whatever I have been doing in the one-dayers, just look to continue doing that.”

Team India and Sri Lanka will next meet in the second ODI of the series at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday, January 12.