Dubai: India`s batting great Rahul Dravid, who bid adieu to international cricket on Friday, holds 30th position in the rating list for the all-time best in the Test cricket.
The 39-year old Karnataka batsman spent a total of 35 Tests and 226 days at the top, with the highest-rating of 892 which he achieved in March 2005, an ICC release stated.
Among India batsmen, only Sunil Gavaskar (916) and Sachin Tendulkar (898) have achieved higher career ratings than Dravid.
The Indore-born batsman signed off his meritorious 16-year international career in the 19th spot in the ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen.
After making his Test debut against England at the Lord`s in 1996, Dravid broke the 800-point barrier -- a total which marks out players as outstanding -- in March 1998 after scoring half-centuries in each innings of the Chennai Test against Australia.
Nine months later, Dravid topped the batting table after scoring 190 and 103 not out against New Zealand in Hamilton. However, his stay at the top lasted just 26 days when he was overtaken by team-mate Tendulkar.
Dravid regained the No.1 position after his match-winning double-century against Pakistan in the Rawalpindi Test in March 2004 and then spent six months on top of the ranking table from July 2004 to January 2005.
He achieved top spot once more, in March 2005, although that reign was the shortest of his career, lasting just a week before he was leapfrogged by South Africa`s Jacques Kallis.
Dravid was also the first recipient of the ICC Test Player of the Year and the ICC Cricketer of the Year (the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy) awards, presented in 2004 in London.
In the ODI arena, Dravid achieved a highest ranking of fifth spot in August 2007 and stayed inside the top 25 from May 1999 to October 2007. His highest rating was 749 which he achieved in May 2006.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, March 10, 2012, 18:24