‘Rahul bhai, aap dedo isko bindaas, let them…’: Rahane recalls Dravid’s tense and angry exchange with Johnson

Considered to be among the greatest cricketers in history, Rahul Dravid is also known for his super calm personality. He is rarely known to be aggressive on and off the field. A former national team captain, he also led India to the 2024 T20 World Cup title as head coach. Other than his calm demeanour, he is also known as Mr. Dependable or The Wall.

Recently, Ajinkya Rahane, Dravid’s ex-IPL teammate, revealed how the former player once lost his cool in a heated exchange with former Mumbai Indians pacer Mitchell Johnson during an IPL 2013 match.

Dravid opened the innings for Rajasthan Royals with Rahane, and the pair faced off MI’s Johnson. The Aussie pacer bagged three consecutive dots and then Dravid smacked him for an off-drive boundary.

Soon, Johnson confronted Dravid, and the pair exchanged words in a tense interaction. The clash got aggressive and tense, then Dravid followed it up with a four in Johnson’s next over. Then, he cupped his hands to his ear and teased the pacer to continue his sledging tactics.

“Opening with him at Rajasthan Royals felt reassuring. I was settling into my role as an opener and even in the fast-paced nature of T20 cricket he carried himself with such calm. During so many partnerships we had in that period, I actually also saw the not so calm side of Rahul bhai once when Mitchell Johnson had tried to say a few words to him! I jokingly told him in between the overs ‘Rahul bhai, aap dedo isko bindaas, let them see this side of yours’ and he started laughing,” Rahane wrote on LInkedIn.

Here is the full video of Dravid and Johnson’s heated exchange:

During his coaching tenure, India also were runners-up at the 2023 ODI World Cup and 2023 Test Championship final. They also reached the 2022 T20 World Cup semifinals.