Rahul Sharad Dravid is the present skipper of the Indian team in both forms of the game. Amongst the best batsman in the world today, he made his international debut in 1996. Jammy, as he was nicknamed because his father worked in Kissan Jams, Dravid studied at the St. Joseph`s Boys High School, Bangalore, and then went to the St. Joseph`s College Of Commerce. Keki Tarapore was Dravid`s first cricketing coach. Dravid has also represented the English county side Kent (where he came in touch with coach John Wright) and Scotland.

There was a time in Indian cricket when Rahul Dravid was ridiculed for his ultra-defensive approach to the game ala Sanjay Manjrekar. He even lost his place in the ODI side in the late 90s for this specific reason. But full credit to the man as he has worked on his deficiencies and is today a match-winner in either form of the game.

Dravid, scoring an impressive 95. Since then he has been a regular No.3 for India in Test cricket. Dravid has played a major part in a number of India`s big triumphs. His double century at Adelaide and 180 at the Eden Gardens with India following on are ones that come to mind. So also his century at Headingley in 2002 that guided India to victory. A consistent performer, Dravid averages close to 60 in Test cricket with 25 Test centuries to his name. The greatness of Dravid lies in the fact that he has always done better away from home - something that not many others of the present team can claim to have done.

And for someone who was not suited to one-day cricket for most part of his early career, Dravid has done very well with an average of 40 in the shorter version. In fact, he is the only cricketer to be involved in two partnerships of over 300 in one-day matches. Dravid only Test victim is former West Indies keeper Ridley Jacobs. Dravid himself has kept wickets for India in one-day matches before Mahendra Dhoni arrived on the scene to relieve him from the burdensome job. Dravid holds the distinction of playing the highest number of innings before registering his first duck. As of now, he has scored 5 double centuries with a highest score of 270.

Dravid won the Wisden cricketers of the year award in 2000. In 2004, the Padma Shri conferred upon him. In the same year, Dravid also won the inaugural ICC Player of the year award and in addition was named the Test player of the year. "The Wall" - an often used substitute for Dravid even though he personally not too fond of it - recently played his 100th Test for India against England in Mumbai. Unfortunately, it was not a very memorable one as India lost to a weak English side.

Ironically, Dravid was named in the one -day World XI team for 2005 and failed to make it to the Test XI. The BCCI has appointed Dravid as the team`s skipper till the conclusion of the 2007 World Cup in West Indies. This would most probably be his last World Cup appearance and he would undoubtedly like to make it a memorable one by bringing back the trophy.