Tino Best recalls bowling to Indian great Rahul Dravid

 

Former West Indies fast bowler Tino Best recalled the time when he was up against one of the best in the business, Rahul Dravid. Best, who was known to take the bull by its horns, recalled an incident when Dravid hit him for three fours in an over and then came to the West Indies dressing room for a discussion.

Dravid told Best to keep charging in and give his all and praised the West Indies bowler for his energy. Best stated it was a great experience to bowl to Dravid, as he had all the patience in his batting.

Meanwhile, Rahul Dravid has always been known to play with great sportsmanship spirit. In fact, back during Dravid’s heydays, it was a task to dismiss him as he would hardly play any risky shots. Dravid was known to put a price on his wicket and mostly batted at the top of his game.

The former Indian captain hardly had any chunk in his armour and thus it was not easy to get rid of him. Dravid was technically strong and breathed down the neck of the world-class bowlers.

On the other hand, Best added that it was a great learning experience to play against the Indian team.

Tino Best said while talking to Sportskeeda, “The first time I played against India was in the Indian Oil Cup in 2005 and I bowled to Rahul Dravid and that was an experience, he hit me for three back to back fours. I remember after the game, we had a nice little discussion,” Tino Best recollected.

“He said, ‘Young man, I love your energy, keep charging in, just because you get hit for fours don’t stop.’ And I thought that was very humble and sweet of him. I’ve always had a lot of love for the Indian cricketers, Yuvraj gave me a bat once and I thought that was so cool of him,” the former fast bowler said.

Best stated that the Indian players never showed any kind of attitude and they were always down to earth despite the mad fan following they get. The former right-arm pacer added the Indian players were humble and he really admired them. Best said there was no bad energy from the Indian players and they always had respect and love for the game.

Meanwhile, Tino Best played 25 Test matches for the West Indies in which he scalped 57 wickets at an average of 40.19. Best could only play 26 ODI matches in which he snared 34 wickets at an average of 34.02.