Rahul Dravid shares words of wisdom with budding cricketers

Former Indian skipper Rahul Dravid has been the wise old man of Indian cricket. After hanging his boots in international cricket, Dravid has been mentoring the youngsters in the country. Currently, he is the head coach of the India A and the India U19 teams. Recently, en route to Vijayawada where India A played New Zealand A, Dravid took a pit stop at the ACA Central Academy.

Rahul Dravid interacted with the budding youngsters at the academy and shared some words of wisdom. The kids surely had a lot to pick from the words that Dravid had for them. As per the quotes in The Hindu, Dravid spoke on the importance of learning to fail well. What he meant, in essence, was that failing is bad only if people do not reflect back at it and learn from it.

“Learning to fail well is important. When cricketers fail they blame the umpires, the coaches, the weather, the pitch or their luck. They try to brush the real issues under the carpet and refuse to address them,” quoted Rahul Dravid.

“But people who fail well would look into every failure as an opportunity to grow. It is those who learn to fail well who will eventually succeed and make it to the top. Most of the time, players get depressed when they fail and feel happy when they succeed. Their moods go up and down but the need of the hour is about striking a balance. This helps you both in cricket and in life,” he added further.

Reflecting back at the weaknesses

He further mentioned that the players must reflect back at how their session went on a given day. Rahul Dravid stressed on the fact that only by working hard and practising more, the players can develop and hone their skills in the game. Speaking further on the same note, the former cricketer cited that the most important feedback that any player can ever get is from their own self.

He feels that self-criticism and self-analysis is the best way to learn rapidly in the longer run. He advised the youngsters to keep a track of their progress.

“After every practice session or a match you should get back to your room and reflect. Think about the outing and analyse for just 10 minutes. Because only reflection will help you grow. Just by practising you can improve but practising with reflection helps you improve quicker,” mentioned the former Indian cricketer.

“The most important feedback comes from you. The more you do it, the quicker you learn, and the faster you improve. Note down the important points on a daily basis. These jottings will help when you are out of form. The diary will be a corrective manual,” he added further.

Striking the right balance

Dravid also mentioned that it is of utmost importance to value the education as well. He noted that one should focus completely on the game while on the field. However, when they are with the books, the focus has to shift to the books. Too much cricket can drain out an individual, reckoned Rahul Dravid.

“When you are playing you should give your 100% and the moment you open your books, you should switch off cricket. Thinking about cricket 24×7 will drain you out. Pursuits other than cricket help you relax,” Dravid conceded.