One of the biggest joys of discovering old interviews of people you admire, is getting to know the person they were before the wheels of fortune turned.
In these videos, they talk about goals that are later achieved; but more interesting is the total lack of awareness about the unimaginable success coming their way.
I just explained to you the essence of this 1997 interview of Rahul Dravid.
It had just been a year since Dravid had made his iconic Test debut, scoring 95 alongside fellow first-timer and centurian, Sourav Gangly.
And he was just enjoying his moment in the sun, hoping to play as long as possible. Little did he know that’ll be 16 years.
On being asked by Charu Sharma about the reason why he was put on tricky fielding positions back then, this is what Dravid says.
And since he was already batting well and keeping wickets occasionally, the next question was obvious – ‘what about bowling?’.
Dravid would go on to score 36 Test centuries, but the firsts are always special. Especially if you start with a prolific but heart-breaking 95-run-innings. Talking about his maiden Test ton, he says.
He has always been a nice, guy, though. His view on the then captains Sachin and Azharuddin proves that.
Meanwhile, another thing that remains unchanged is India’s love for cricket. He puts it interestingly here.
Lastly, here is 24-year-old Dravid wondering if he is even good enough for the job of mentoring. He would go on to become the chairman of NCA and guide the India U-19 team to World Cup victory as a coach.
Funny how and how much things change. You can watch the complete interview here: