Rahul Dravid declines honorary doctorate from Bangalore University

Former Indian cricket captain and legendary batsman Rahul Dravid, on Wednesday, declined to accept an honorary doctorate degree conferred on him by the reputed Bangalore University, saying that he would like to conduct research in the field of sports and then earn the degree.

“Sri Rahul Dravid, while thanking Bangalore University for recognising him for the honorary degree, has conveyed that he would try to earn a doctorate degree by accomplishing some form of academic in research in the field of sports rather than receiving an honorary degree,” BU Vice Chancellor B Thimme Gowda said in a statement here.

It has been put to notice that Dravid did not attend the Gulbarga University’s 32nd convocation in 2014, though he was among 12 personalities shortlisted for an honorary doctorate. Karnataka Governor and Bangalore University Chancellor Vajubhai R Vala recently approved conferment of an honorary doctorate on Dravid at the university’s 52nd annual convocation scheduled to be held on January 27.

Dravid had a stellar career, playing for India. He is the fourth-highest run scorer in Test cricket, after Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting and Jacques Kallis, and is only the second Indian cricketer, after Tendulkar to score 10,000 runs both in Tests and in ODIs. Also known as the ‘Wall’, for his water-tight technique and a rock-solid defense, Dravid played 164 Tests and 344 ODIs scoring 13,288 and 10,889 runs respectively.

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Interestingly, BCCI president Anurag Thakur had earlier revealed that the board had initially approached former India captain Rahul Dravid for the role of India’s coach before moving to Anil Kumble, but he turned down the offer citing family reasons. The much-followed cricketer was appointed coach of the India A and Under-19 teams in June 2015. Under him, the Under-19 team reached the World Cup final in Bangladesh earlier this year. India the U-19 team will host England for a 5-match ODI series followed by four-day games.