Why did Team India coach Rahul Dravid play for Scotland in 2003?

Rahul Dravid, current Head Coach of Team India, is one of most well-regarded cricketers of his generation. Between 1996 and 2012, he represented India in all three formats, making over 500 appearances for country. Most people are unaware, however, that Dravid also played for Scotland national cricket team in English domestic one-day league in 2003. Cricket Scotland went stalgic on Thursday, vember 18, sharing a photo of Dravid in Scotland colours to commemorate his brief time with team.

Why Dravid played for Scotland? 

According to Wisden, a group of NRIs or n-Residential Indians, who were living in Scotland at time, raised around £45,000 through charity dinners and or events to fund Dravid's stay at Grange. Dravid was in top form at time and was averaging around 92 in Tests for India. Dravid played a total of 12 matches for Scotland, which included 11 one-dayers and one tour game against Pakistan. Dravid's brief stay in Scotland ended with his team losing 11 out of  12 matches y played in one-day tournament. 

Dravid's run with Scottish Saltires

Dravid could man just 25 runs in his first match for Saltires and he was dismissed for a second-ball duck in his second game against touring Pakistan side. However, newly-married Karnataka batter made a strong comeback in third match against Somerset, where he scored a magnificent 120 runs off just 97 balls. Dravid went on to score two centuries and posted two double-digit scores of more than 50 runs. right-handed batter finished 11-game tournament with 600 runs, which he amassed at an aver of 66.66. 

Interesting trivia

Scottish captain Kyle Coetzer, who lead side in recently-concluded T20 World Cup, was part of team in 2003 that included India legend Rahul Dravid. Coetzer was only 19-years-old at time. Coetzer recently recalled Dravid's stay with Scottish national team and said he still remembers how he and former India captain were involved in a mix-up that eventually cost his wicket as he was dismissed run-out. Dravid went on to score a century in match. Coetzer shared anecdote at a pre-match press conference ahead of Scotland's clash against India in T20 World Cup. 

Im: ScotlandCricket/Twitter