New Delhi: Legendary India batter Rahul Dravid said he was humbled to receive the Lifetime Achievement honour at the recent Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) annual awards ceremony, adding that his life in cricket has been like carrying a torch passed on by earlier generations.
Dravid, along with Roger Binny and Mithali Raj, was presented with the Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award at a ceremony held in New Delhi on Sunday night.
‘I have always seen myself as a torchbearer’
“I think that I’ve always just seen my role as just carrying a torch. I carried a torch from an earlier generation in whether I was a player or whether as a coach, I have just built on the good work that other people have done.
“I have had my time when I’ve had the opportunity to contribute and do the best that I can and I’m very proud and grateful to see the way the next generation continues to carry that on and the kind of successes that we have had is a great credit to the current management, the current team and everyone involved with Indian cricket.
“So we all have our time in the game and we have to do our bit and I’ve tried to do the best that I can and I’ve been inspired by generations before me and it’s just amazing to see that generations ahead of us continue to in fact take it to another level,” said Dravid in a video release by the BCCI on Monday.
A moment of gratitude for the cricket legend
Dravid, who has the rare distinction of captaining and coaching the India national cricket team, said receiving the honour was a moment of gratitude for him.
“I am very grateful to receive this award. I mean, I follow the earlier recipients of this award who are some of the greatest legends of the game in our country.
“It’s really the people I have looked up to and admired and have been great inspirations to me as a player and as a coach and in all the other things that I’ve been involved in Indian cricket.”
A journey spanning decades in Indian cricket
Reflecting on a journey spanning decades, Dravid, who also headed the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, said he felt fortunate to have remained connected to Indian cricket since his early days.
“So, it’s a great privilege. I am very grateful for this honour, very humbled and I think I am very appreciative of the fact that I’ve been able to be involved with Indian cricket for such a long time — since the time I’m a young boy, probably playing under 15 cricket for the first time to today and very grateful for the opportunities that I’ve got. So, I think I’ve been very lucky to be involved in Indian cricket.”