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Team India head coach Rahul Dravid is celebrating his 51st birthday today (Thursday, January 11).
The former captain is one of the legends of the game, having represented India in 164 Tests, 344 ODIs, and one T20I, scoring 24,064 runs in 504 matches at an average of 45.57, including 48 tons and 145 half-centuries. He has led India in 79 ODIs and 25 Tests, with 42 and eight wins, respectively.
Dravid is often labeled as ‘The Wall of Indian Cricket’ for his contributions to the game. The right-handed batter holds a plethora of records, including more than 10,000 runs in both Tests and ODIs.
As a coach, Rahul Dravid led the U19 Indian team to the 2018 World Cup and the senior team to the finals of ICC’s World Test Championship (WTC) and the ODI World Cup last year.
Cricket fraternity on X (formerly Twitter) wished Rahul Dravid on his 51st birthday. Legendary Sachin Tendulkar wrote:
"Happy birthday to my teammate and friend, Rahul Dravid. Wishing you the best of health and happiness. May this year bring lots of joy and success."
Here are some more reactions:
"As of now, we will be certainly opening with Rohit and Jaiswal” – Rahul Dravid confirms openers for IND vs AFG 1st T20I
Rahul Dravid, meanwhile, has confirmed India captain Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal as the openers for the opening T20I against Afghanistan in Mohali on Thursday, January 11. He pointed out that the duo will provide the left-right combination. He was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo:
"As of now, we will be certainly opening with Rohit and Jaiswal. But when you have a squad, you have to have that flexibility to do whatever is required if that is in the best interest of the team, and gives us the best chance to succeed. So nothing is closed. But certainly, we're really happy with what Jaiswal has done as an opener for us, and he gives us a left-right combination as well at the top."
Dravid further cleared the air regarding Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer not finding a place in T20I squad. He said:
"Ishan Kishan was not available for selection. He has not yet made himself available for selection. I'm sure when he is ready, he will play domestic cricket and make himself available for selection."
He added:
"In Shreyas Iyer's case, there was absolutely no disciplinary reason for his non-inclusion. There were a lot of batsmen in the team, and Shreyas Iyer missed out. He didn't play the T20s in South Africa as well if you notice, and it's unfortunate.
"He is a fine player, but there are a lot of batsmen, and it is not easy to fit everyone in the squad and the playing XI."
Follow the IND vs AFG 1st T20I live score and updates here.
