Indian cricket greats, including star batsman Sachin Tendulkar, have richly praised Rahul Dravid as he prepares to play the final one-day game of his illustrious career."He has had a fabulous career as a one-day player and has contributed so much to Indian cricket," Tendulkar told a national daily on Friday. "I have no doubt that he is and will continue to be a role model for all of us."
Tendulkar said Dravid's natural game was not suited for the quick scoring of one-dayers, but had worked hard to improve and excelled in his "finishing role."
"He may not give you a quick start, but he will surely make his innings count in terms of time spent at the crease. You need such players in the team, and he was the best man for the job," he added.
"Rahul also had that ability to finish a game, and I remember he played the same role at No. 5, or for that matter at any other spot in the batting order. And that was one of the main reasons he sustained his role as an important member in the side."
Tendulkar also praised Dravid for adjusting according to the team's needs and helping the team gain depth in batting by agreeing to keep wickets.
"He is the perfect team man; when he was asked to keep wickets we all knew that he will do well because he was initially a wicketkeeper. It later helped him, and came as a big help to all of us in the Indian team during the 2003 World Cup."
