Rahul Dravid is not one batsman who cricket fans remember for his power-hitting. Yes, there were a few flashes of a destructive T20 cricketer when he struck English bowler Samit Patel for three consecutive sixes in a T20I game. But apart from that, Dravid was seen as more of an anchor.
The Team India Under-19 coach is responsible for giving India the new crop of players like Prithvi Shaw, Shivam Mavi, Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill. The attacking instinct is in each and everyone of these youngsters who proved themselves in the previous edition of Indian Premier League (IPL).
Dravid was not a batsman who would get intimidated by a bowler easily. But, the T20 format requires a batsman to score at a rampant rate. In a recent interview with ESPNCricinfo, the 46-year-old revealed the hardest bowler he faced in his IPL career,
“I think the hardest T20 bowler that I faced would have to be (Lasith) Malinga. If you look at Malinga’s ability to execute the yorkers and the slower one at absolutely will was brilliant. I have to say Malinga was probably the best T20 player I have played.”
The former Rajasthan Royals (RR) skipper also felt that Mumbai Indians’ (MI) bowling attack spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is a “younger version of Malinga in some ways”. He was also amazed by the things Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batsman AB De Villiers can do and hoped that he could execute some of his unorthodox shots in his career.
The 35-year-old Sri Lankan fast bowler will be playing for MI in IPL 2019. The ferocious fast bowler with a slinging action proved his mettle yesterday with fantastic 4-over spell giving just 11 runs, picking up two wickets and bagging the player of the match award.
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