Lead it like Rahul Dravid: Leadership lessons for CIOs

BANGALORE, INDIA: Former Indian cricket captain Rahul Dravid has the credit of taking highest number of catches (210) in Test cricket. At CIOL's C-Change 2013, Dravid had to face different kinds of catches (read questions) from 100+ CIOs and business leaders, and he did it in his own charismatic way.

The questions ranged from his controversial decisions as captain of Indian team to the dark side of IPL, life after retirement and secrets to his fitness. Dravid known for his humility courted them smilingly.

"I'm unemployed, I change nappies of my younger son and help elder son in school homework," Dravid replied to a query on his life after retirement by veteran journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta. He also added: "I'm relaxing at home trying to experiment with different things."

"For one more year I will be playing Indian Premier League (IPL) and have been practicing for that. In the past 25 years all my concentration was on cricket, everything was revolving around cricket. Cricket has given me so much," Dravid replied.

Leading the team

"I had the opportunity to play and also lead Indian cricket team at the best times. Advantage of being in a cricket team is that I had to work with relatively small number of team members unlike someone heading a team in IT organisation. Team interactions, formal and informal, help in building personal equations,'' he said

"A cricket team moves with family members too. Gaining confidence and respect among team members is not easy, it has to be earned."

The other side of Indian Premier League(IPL)

Controversies are not new to sports and they have existed throughout the gaming history. On the positive note, the IPL model is offering a good career prospect for many youngsters. This was something unthinkable few years back, he said.

On whether IPL is making the uncertain game more uncertain, Dravid said he feels otherwise. Though Test cricket is more demanding in terms of physical fitness and talent 20-20 format is a great short-form of cricket. "At the end of the day we are entertainers," he quipped.

To a query on the secret to his fitness, the former India captain said he still jogs a lot and does gym workouts. "I had the privilege of training under best coaches but diet too plays an important role. I always watch out for what I eat," he said adding, keeping the same fitness level after retirement will be a challenge.

Life after cricket

To a query on whether any of his ambitions have gone unfulfilled. The former Indian captain said: "No. I haven't achieved everything, but have no regrets too. I didn't leave any stone unturned and strived to best of my ability to make my dreams come true. The Phase I of my life is over, will do different things in the next phase and hope the goodwill earned in the cricketing career will help in future endeavours."

Match fixing and Multan declaration controversy:

To a direct query on whether at any point he was approached for match fixing, Dravid's reply was a straight "No" . "It's an unforgivable sin to commit. It's like swindling money of the country, betraying the trust of millions."

On the Multan declaration controversy where India's first innings was declared at a point when Sachin Tendulkar was at 194 runs with 16 overs remaining on Day 2, Dravid said as a captain one needs to take decisions keeping multiple points in mind. "I did have discussions with Sachin on the decision at that point of time. Even today we have good rapport," he said.