Slow coach. Hopeless plodder. Boring. They branded him as Mr.Dependable, but in the same breath. referred to him snidely as the perennial bridesmaid, the batsman whose modestly large scores were always overshadowed by the colossal efforts of his team-mates.
Shakespeare really had noble intentions running through his mind when he wrote 'What's in a name?' But that line is the very reason why Dravid today finds himself stuck with the most inglorious of epithets: THE WALL

And indeed when it comes to India's number three batting mainstay, what's in a name you argue.He's not 'God' that three letter word goes exclusively with Sachin Tendulkar. He's no savage destroyer of attacks like Sehwag. He is graceful but then VVS Laxman has seized that adjective already.
So perhaps the reasoning goes if you must call him something you might as well call him 'The Wall'
Bat in hand, Dravid is a mask of concentration; his defence is as solid as the cement and brick structure in question. His shots, especially the cover drives,are the stuff orthodox manuals are made of. And the numbers have long established an unimpeachable fact that of all the talented batsmen in the Indian batting line-up, Dravid has played the most significant role in fixing India's hitherto dubious away records in Tests.
He reminds us there's batting beauty beyond the scored boundary, there is significance to the ball left untouched, that patience has a powerful appeal, method its own charm, the team always overides the individual. And that courage in crisis is a man at his best.
On a lighter note, you might hear him chuckle if you call him master, appreciate it if you call him a student. After all, everything about him suggests a man pursuing a degree in batsmanship.So 'The wall' be damned Rahul Sharad Dravid is a hell lot more than that. :-)