Former India captain and head coach Rahul Dravid has shared his insights on the batting prowess of batters with shorter height. Dravid, the prolific run-scorer for India, has revealed that he always found shorter batters like Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara and others more aesthetically pleasing to watch.
Dravid feels that batters with short height often have an advantage in cricket due to their lower center of gravity, which enhances their balance at the crease. While explaining about the batting techniques of short batters, the former India captain humorously referred to Virat Kohli as “short-ish” but quickly noted that Delhi batter might not appreciate the label.
Notably, the cricketing world has been blessed with several great batters like Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar, who were not so physically tall but still managed to dominate the field with the bat.
“Gavaskar was a beautifully balanced player. I always remember, he always seemed to. There was a stillness when he stood, which is what I admired. I was always slightly taller, so I didn’t copy anything. I just stood in a way that made me feel uncomfortable,” Dravid said on the Haal Chaal Aur Sawaal Podcast with Ashish Kaushik.
“Tendulkar again was very balanced. Shorter people have the advantage of looking more balanced because the centre of gravity is lower. That’s what they say.
A lot of great batters over the years have been shorter people. Look at Gavaskar, or Tendulkar or Lara or Ponting… going back to Bradman. Kohli is short-ish. Virat Kohli might not like me calling him shortish, though,” he added.
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Rahul Dravid Speaks About Taller Batters
Meanwhile, Rahul Dravid also acknowledged that in modern T20 cricket, taller batters like benefit from greater reach and power for hitting sixes. He cited the examples of Kevin Pietersen, Kieron Pollard and others.
“But today, as the game is changing and becoming a lot about power and hitting sixes. The reach of the taller guys is becoming an advantage. Physics will tell you. Kevin Pietersen, Kieron Pollard. Look at the guys who are batting these days, in T20s especially,” said Dravid.
After guiding India to title win at the 2024 T20 World Cup, Dravid ended his stint as India head coach. He is currently the head coach of the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).