It’s difficult to be consistently relevant in an ever-evolving world. Unless, of course, one of them is Sunil Gavaskar, who on Wednesday is celebrating the completion of 75 eventful summers in his life. It is difficult for today’s young cricket fans, who grew up watching the blockbusters of the IPL, to truly understand the significance of Gavaskar, as they often have a shrunken image of him – a former cricketer turned commentator – in their minds.
Now there are many of them. Or, perhaps, it’s recency bias.
However, Gavaskar, who faced some of the most vicious bowlers who ever lived, remains a colossus in the minds of his contemporaries, who fondly remember the great right-hander’s greatness.
“Gavaskar made his debut two years after my retirement. But the (late) Ajit Wadekar already told us about a talented boy from Bombay who could score a lot of runs for India. Didn’t he score a lot of runs?” former Indian batsman Chandu Borde.
So how did Gavaskar tame those fearsome West Indies quick movements, right from his first series in 1971? “It’s your concentration and a waterproof technique. I’ve never seen a better stance than his, and he watched the ball so closely. practical batsman, knew what to do and when”, said Borde.
Gavaskar scored 774 runs in that series, helping India defeat West Indies 1-0. ‘Lord Reporter’ immortalized this triumph with a Calypso dedicated to the master batsman.
“It was Gavaskar. The true master. Just like a wall. We couldn’t eliminate Gavaskar at all, no way,” he wrote, and to this day it remains a number that sends shivers down your spine.
Gavaskar is often remembered for his dominance over pacers like Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall and Imran Khan, but another less talked about aspect of his batting was the way he nullified spinners.
Gavaskar, who once called England’s Derek Underwood the toughest spinner he faced, outperformed some of the astute spinners of his generation such as Abdul Qadir, Pakistan’s Tauseef Ahmed and England’s John Emburey.
“Sunny had brilliant footwork and knew how to use soft hands (against spin). Because he used to watch the ball very closely, he could play with the spinners late and never get into awkward positions against them,” recalled the former -Indian middle order batsman Mohinder Amarnath, himself a pacer killer in the 80s.
But occasionally he also wore executioner’s garb.
He hit Marshall with a six to equal the then world record of 29 Test hundreds held by the legendary Sir Donald Bradman.
In fact, Gavaskar’s 103, his only ODI century, against New Zealand during the 1987 World Cup, came off 88 balls.
“Perhaps the need of the time forced Gavaskar to be on the defensive while playing for India. But he could always dominate the attacks and he used to do that in the domestic circuit. He could pull and hook as easily as anyone,” says the former Mumbai batsman Milind Regge.
Gavaskar also carried this versatility and adaptability into the commentary box and added a touch of subtle humor.
Go back to the way he taunted former England pacer Jade Dernbach, who carried a reputation for an excellent death over the bowler, after being bowled out by Indian batsmen in a T20I.
“Dernbach is an expert on deaths, isn’t he?” he mischievously asked former England batsman-turned-commentator Michael Vaughan with a soft laugh.
“Sunny Bhai is always a cheerful presence in the box. There is never a dull moment around him. He is a bundle of jokes and is never afraid to speak his mind,” said a former cricketer, who has spent several hours on air with Gavaskar.
“He has strong views on cricket issues and strongly supports Indian cricket. Perhaps this comes from the time when he played cricket.
“You know, the time when world cricket was dominated by England and Australia. Now, he wants to see the wheel come full circle,” he said.
In fact, it has come full circle for Gavaskar as well.
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