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Mr. Balance

I've always felt that "The Wall" was one of the most inappropriate and unfair nicknames that any cricketer could have, but in his typical phlegmatic fashion Dravid has shrugged it off and accepted it as part of the game. The passage below from Ayaz Memon's recent interview with him really epitomizes the man and the cricketer.

Q:Do you sometimes feel that you have not got enough accolades? Does that drive you to do better?
RD: I've never really worried about that. People keep telling me that, maybe, you don't get the recognition you deserve; but, I think, I've got enough. In my own mind, I'm very comfortable. I think I've got a hell of a lot of recognition. When I look around me and I look at the other cricketers of India who've also done well, the number of guys who play first class cricket for years, there can be no complaint. Outside of cricket, you look around and see so many guys who struggle day and day out and get nowhere near the reward for the effort they put in. Living in India you just see it every day; it's in your face. There a lot more disadvantaged people than you and you can't really be complaining about small things.
I'm very comfortable and happy with what I've got. I think I'm recognised and rated for my work by colleagues and peers. A lot of nice things have been written about me in these 15 years and I'm very comfortable.
Q: You've got the record to justify more...
RD: The record's nice. But I've played a long time as well and you know if you play so many years you're going to put up numbers. The important thing for me is that I've been able to survive so long in Indian cricket. I've faced the challenges, I've faced the questions that have been asked of me, I've faced the hardships. I've gone through some tough times in my career. I've gone through some ups and downs, some really difficult periods as you know. But I've got through that, I've fought my way through. That's what I've really enjoyed.

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