GODS of Cricket – Sunil Gavaskar

Garry Sobers still regards Sunil Gavaskar as the greatest batsman of hisembed era, only because players from different eras cannot be compared. “Gavaskar rated the greatest because of the bowling attacks that he came up against. At that time West Indies had a fast bowling attack that was unplayable; they had bowlers who used to bowl out teams in three days. Gavaskar played against those bowlers and he made a lot of runs.”

Sunil Manohar Gavaskar

And in those days, there were no restrictions for the bowler: no issues with bouncers or even beamers, no chest gear, thigh gear or a head gear. The little master skilfully dissected the best of attacks to pile a mountain of runs as an opening batsman, broke almost all the existing batting records of the time and changed the fortunes of a team once looked upon as a side that is good to play against as a warm-up. Gavaskar, in due time, became the first player to cross the milestone of 10,000 runs in Test cricket, and scored the maximum number of centuries (till it was broken by Sachin Tendulkar a few years ago). He also holds the record of having scored the maximum aggregate runs in a debut series by any batsman, courtesy three fifties and four centuries against West Indies in 1970-71 that took the world by storm.

Gavaskar did not play in the first match of the tour at Jamaica because of an injured fingernail, and in the next four matches he scored 774 runs at a staggering average of 154.80. In the last Test at Port Of Spain, Trinidad, he scored a century in the first innings and a double century in the second as India won that series 1-0 that stands out as the significant tour that redefined Indian cricket. He quietened in the following years but kept on scoring useful half centuries and three-figure scores regularly. After a good tour in New Zealand in 1975-76, Gavaskar picked his magical bat against West Indies again. He scored two centuries and a fifty in the Test series at an average of 55.71.

The Little Master was grace personified as he dissected with ease the deadliest of bowling attacks

Gavaskar had this tendency to score big against mighty teams in their own backyards, be it the West Indies (his favourite), England or Australia. In the most difficult conditions and against the fiercest attacks, he seemed to revel. The stupendous innings of 221 in the second innings at The Oval in the 1979 tour of England that brought his side to the brink of a very improbable victory is perhaps the highlight of this. He scored 542 runs in the four matches in that series at an average of 77.43.

On the other hand, he was never very comfortable with the new format of a one-day international. The infamous innings of an unbeaten 36 off 174 deliveries in reply to England’s 334 off 60 overs shows his dislike for the limited overs format, as he had never been able to adapt to the one-day internationals. His experience as the captain of the team, just like that of his pupil Sachin Tendulkar, has not been too good.

Gavaskar was meant to bat, and his own way. Averages and statistics aside, Gavaskar, in the books of many, is still the greatest batsman India has produced. His attitude, his cool temperament and his calm and copybook style batting is still missed by scores of cricket fans all over the world. In the age of menacing fast bowling and against the most fearsome of bowling attacks, the tiny man gracefully cut, pulled, drove and glided the ball into gaps without much ado. He ended his playing career in 1987, scoring a 96 in his farewell innings at Bangalore. With four double centuries, 34 centuries and 45 half centuries at an overall average of 51.12, Sunil Gavaskar was easily the best of his time.

West Indians have the memories with them, and in his recent visit to the Caribbean for the T20 World Cup, he met fans whose hearts and minds still go back to the 1971 Test series that brought before the world a legend called Sunil Manohar Gavaskar – an epitome of grace, purity and toughness, a true GOD of cricket.