Schooled at St. Josephs Boys High School, Bangalore, and college in St. Josephs College Of Commerce. He was coached by Keki Tarapore, Dravid has played English domestic cricket for Kent and Scotland. He also led Karnataka to the Ranji Trophy, scoring a double century in the process in the final. He made his Test debut against England at Lords in the 2nd Test match of India's Test tour of England in 1996, and his ODI debut against Sri Lanka at Singapore in the Singer Cup tournament in the same year. He was named as one of the Wisden cricketers of the year 2000.

Dravid started playing cricket at the age of 10 in the streets of Banglore. His school had a good cricket team and Rahul performed well in the Junior Tournaments to merit selection in the state under 15, under 17 and under 19 tournaments. Rahul though failed to deliver in his debut ODI match at Singapore in the Triangular Tournament( India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka), it was his Test debut performance in the England tour which earned him a permanent berth in the Indian Team.

During his early career, he was given the nickname "Jammy" as he appreared in a TV advertisement for Kisan Jam.