Rahul Dravid 'bored' talkative Brian Lara to help dismiss him in 2002: Deep Dasgupta

Former Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Deep Dasgupta recently talked about an incident from a 2002 Test series between India and West Indies the, which involved himself and cricketing icons Rahul Dravid and Brian Lara. In an appearance on Oaktree Sports 22 Yarns with Gaurav Kapur, Dasgupta revealed a strategy devised by the Indian team when they toured West Indies in 2002 for five Test matches. He said that the strategy was put to use by himself and former Indian captain Rahul Dravid to unsettle West Indies batsman Brian Lara, who at the time was considered as one of the best batsmen in world cricket alongside the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting.

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Deep Dasgupta recalls Rahul Dravid’s ‘silent’ treatment for Brian Lara

On the show, Deep Dasgupta, who was India’s wicketkeeper at the time, said the Indian team held a meeting prior to the opening Test to keep Brian Lara in check. The stylish left-hander was one such batsman who liked talking to the opposition even while he was batting out in the middle. So they formed a strategy of not verbally engaging with Brian Lara with hope of boring him out.

Deep Dasgupta then recalled the application of the strategy when Lara came on to bat in the first Test and he was wicketkeeping alongside Rahul Dravid stationed at first slip. The former wicketkeeper said that whenever a spinner came on to bowl, Brian Lara would want to start a conversation with him and Rahul Dravid. However, he stated that both he and Rahul Dravid used to turn their backs on the batsman and pretended like nothing was happening. According to Dasgupta, the move apparently worked in their favour as the batsman did not score many runs in the series and got out according to their plan.

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Rahul Dravid’s strategy to dismiss Brian Lara revealed, watch video

India’s tour of West Indies 2002

Even though the Sourav Ganguly-led side lost the five-match series by a 1-2 margin, their bowlers like Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble kept Brian Lara quiet throughout the tour. The Trinidadian cricketer scored only 202 runs across five matches at a below-par average of 28.85. The series is also remembered for Anil Kumble bowling with a broken jaw in the fourth Test at Antigua, where the former Indian captain bowled 14 overs on Day 5 to dismiss Lara.

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Image credits: ICC Twitter