When Rahul Dravid helped Kevin Pietersen improve his technique

Pietersen said it not only helped improve his game but also proved beneficial for English cricket.

By: Score Keepers |
April 13, 2017 1:43 pm

The 10th edition of Indian Premier league has been a spectacular event so far, the tournament has seen some brilliant performances on the field and there is lot for audience off field too. Former England skipper Kevin Pietersen in a video on IPLT20.com revealed that he sought Indian batting great Rahul Dravid’s help to improve his batting technique.

Referring to an e-mail that Dravid wrote to him, Pietersen said it not only helped improve his game but also proved beneficial for English cricket.

“Speaking from personal experience, Rahul Dravid and how much he helped me in my career. I owe it to the Indian Premier League that I build an ability to tap in with a genius like that which helped me in my career overcome a shortfall. And then just go from strength to strength and that is thanks to the IPL,” Kevin Pietersen said.

Former England cricketer also recollected how he printed that e-mail in his autobiography, “I printed that e-mail from Rahul Dravid and the kindness, generosity and the time he took to write the e-mail and as simple as he made it sound was so beneficial for me. It was beneficial for English cricket too because I managed to sort out a little bit of a deficiency in my technique,” he said.

“Rahul was a great and heroic Indian batsman in his day. He is also a genius at dealing with spin bowlers. Our conversations and emails were a private master class from a genuine guru,” Pietersen has written in the book.

“Rahul improved my cricket and helped me develop the way I think about the game. His generosity will stay with me always.”

In the email quoted by Pietersen, Dravid refers to him as a “champ” and goes on to give him a pep talk: “KP, you are a really good player, you need to watch the ball and trust yourself… Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t play spin, I have seen you and you can!”