Sunil Gavaskar, an Indian legend, is celebrating his 75th birthday. He is still regarded as the most popular cricketer. This is due to his technique and ability to play fast and spin bowlers with ease. One of the greatest achievements in cricket was when India won a test series against Wes Indies which was led by Gavaskar who scored 774 runs in that series.
Former Indian batsman Chandu Borde has spoken about the excitement surrounding Gavaskar’s entry into international cricket. “Sunil Gavaskar debuted two years after I retired but we had already been informed by (late) Ajit Wadekar about this talented Bombay boy who could score tons of runs for India. Didn’t he make plenty of runs,” PTI quoted Borde as saying.
Gavaskar’s outstanding concentration while playing cricket is often attributed to him as well as watertight technique. “It’s about his concentration and a water-tight technique,” said Borde. “I’ve not seen a better stance than that of him, besides he used to watch the ball very closely.” Well, he could play most of the shots but they were played in a sensible manner by him. “He was not only practical batsman but what needed doing.”
Legendary singer ‘Lord Relator’ celebrated this feat with a Calypso song titled “It Was Sunil Gavaskar”, which talks about how immovable he was while batting.“It was Gavaskar. De real master.Just like a wall.We couldn’t out Gavaskar at all, not at all,”
Sunil Gavaswar is known for his battles against renowned pacers like Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall and Imran Khan; yet his skill against spinners also stands out. Underwood of England was rated as the most difficult spinner by him. He faced other great spinners such as Abdul Qadir, Tauseef Ahmed of Pakistan and John Emburey of England, but he had no trouble in handling them.
Former Indian middle order batsman Mohinder Amarnath said that the former opener’s batting technique made him a great player of spin bowling. “Sunny had brilliant footwork, and could use soft hands (against spin). He used to watch the ball very closely, play spinners late and never got into awkward positions against them,” Amarnath noted.
Also, Gavaskar showed his dominance when necessary. For instance, he hit Malcolm Marshall for six to equal Sir Donald Bradman’s record for most centuries by an individual in Test cricket (29) at that time. In addition to this, Gavaskar has scored only one fifty over century during his career which was against New Zealand during 1987 World Cup it took him just 88 balls.
The former Mumbai cricketer Milind Rege believes that Sunil Gavaskar being defensive in international cricket was more a product of his generation. “I feel Gavaskar was compelled to play defensively for India because that is what was required then. However; he did dominate attacks and that happened often in first class games as well. He could pull and hook with as much ease as anyone else,” Rege observed.
