Rahul Dravid to be conferred with BCCI's Col C K Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award

Dravid was appointed as the head coach of the senior Indian men's team where he formed a formidable alliance with skipper Rohit Sharma.

Former India captain and T20 World Cup winning coach Rahul Dravid is set to be honoured with the Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award at the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) annual Naman Awards on March 15.

The award is in recognition of his monumental contribution to Indian cricket.

Dravid, who was an instrumental part of the Indian batting line-up that also boasted Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganduly, V V S Laxman and Virender Sehwag through the second half of 1990s and most of the 2000, is regarded as one of the finest players of his generation.

The Bengaluru-based batter made his Test debut at Lord's and grinded his way to 95, missing out on a well-deserved ton. However, over the next 16 years and 164 matches, Dravid smashed 36 Test centuries and accumulated 13,288 runs at an incredible average of 52.31.

In ODIs, the 53-year-old slammed 10,889 runs in 344 matches, including 12 centuries and 83 half-centuries, making him among the few to amass more than 10,000 runs in both Tests and ODIs.

He also represented India in a solitary T20I match in 2011, where he smashed three sixes in a row at Manchester.

Among his best knocks include the famous come-from-behind win against Australia at the Eden Gardens where he and Laxman forged a partnership that not only gave India a massive lead after following-on, but also ended Steve Waugh-led team's dominant 16-match winning streak. Walking in at No. 6 in the second innings, Dravid scored 180 to frustrate the Aussies.

Two years, later in Adelaide, he also smashed a stunning double ton and followed it up with an unbeaten 72 to drive India to an outstanding win on the Australian shores -- the first in 22 years.

In the following year in 2004, Dravid hammered his highest Test score of 270 against Pakistan in Multan to seal India's only Test series win in the neihbouring country.

Even at the fag-end of his career in 2011, Dravid impressed with three centuries and smashed 461 runs in four matches even as India were drubbed 0-4 on the tour to England.

It was on this tour -- his final in England -- that Dravid finally got his name on the Lord's Honours Board with a stellar century after having missed it by just five runs 16 years ago.

He also holds the record for the joint second-fastest 50 for India in ODIs.

Coaching stint

Following his retirement in 2012, Dravid tried his hand at commentary before moving to coaching.

He was appointed as the Under-19 and India A coach in 2015, guiding the team to the final in 2016 and to a title in 2018. After stepping down in 2019, Dravid went on to become the chairman of the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, citing more family time.

However, in 2021, he was appointed as the head coach of the senior Indian men's team where he formed a formidable alliance with skipper Rohit Sharma.

During his tenure, India reached the 2023 Cricket World Cup final and ended a long ICC trophy drought by winning the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.

Earlier this week, his successor Gautam Gambhir dedicated India’s historic third ICC Men's T20 World Cup triumph to Dravid during the post-match press conference.

“Look, first of all, I think I should dedicate this trophy to Rahul bhai. Because what Rahul bhai has done to keep Indian cricket in such a good shape, I have to thank him for everything he’s done during his tenure,” Gambhir said.