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Sobers rates Gavaskar as the greatest batsman

I

Ilovecric

U19 Cricketer
MUMBAI: The cricket world may be going ga ga over Sachin Tendulkar but West Indian legend Gary Sobers rates Sunil Gavaskar as the greatest batsman he has ever seen, simply because of his stupendous success against the fearsome Caribbean pacers of the 1970s.

"It's my approach, my view that Sunny Gavaskar is the greatest batsman I have come across. He has opened the innings against genuine fast bowlers like Michael Holding, (Andy) Robers, (Colin) Croft and (Joel) Garner. He has made more runs away from India - in the West Indies, Australia and England," Sobers told a media conference on Wednesday.

Gavaskar had a fairytale 1971 debut in the Caribbeans where he amassed 774 runs at 154.80 in the series, which made him the subject of a Calypso song.

"This is not to belittle players like Vivian (Richards) Brian (Lara) or Sachin (Tendulkar). When you talk of Sachin he has done all that was expected of him," said the 73-year-old Barbadian who is widely considered as the greatest ever all rounder the game has seen.

Sobers, who is in Mumbai as the chief guest at a function to honour the epoch-making 1971 team under Ajit Wadekar as the feat enters its 40th year, felt it was wrong to compare players of different eras who have played under conditions that vastly differed.

"People try to compare between the players of the past and the present, but the conditions under which the (Donald) Bradmans and the (Dennis) Comptons played were different," said Sobers.

The left-handed great said there were no restrictions on the number of bouncers per over, beamers were not outlawed and bowlers delivered from two yards closer by dragging their feet as the back-foot no-ball rule was in operation.

"The field was set by the players and not by rules. Also around 72 overs were bowled during a day because of which the batsmen did not have as many opportunities as they have today to score runs. There were no helmets and arm guards and the wickets were uncovered," explained the former West Indies captain.

The West Indian legend, who was the opposing captain when India created history by winning a Test rubber for the first time in 1971 in the Caribbean, also lavished praise on India's swashbuckling opener Virender Sehwag.

"Your opener (Sehwag), I will go to watch him play. He's captured the imagination of the world," said Sobers in praise of the Delhi dasher.

Sobers, who made 8,032 runs with 26 hundreds at a shade under 58 per innings and grabbed 235 wickets in 93 Tests, urged the cricket authorities to exercise caution while promoting the immensely popular Twenty20 form of the game.

"Twenty20 game is good entertainment and people will go for it but you have to be careful how far you let it go. It does not breed Test cricketers," said the cricketing great in the presence of Wadekar who shared the dais.

Sobers was also concerned about the easy money on offer in cricket and felt some of the cricketers just didn't deserve it.

"There's a lot of lump-sum given to the players. Some of them deserve it but others don't. I don't know the reason and I don't want to comment on it," he said.

Sobers also supported the changes in the rules of the game that he felt has sped up the game and produced more results in Tests as compared to dreary draws during his time.
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Sobers rates Gavaskar as the greatest batsman - Top Stories - Cricket - Sports - The Times of India
 
Sanz

Sanz

Hall of Fame Member
Athlai said:
Chatfield 4.1-1-39-0

so basically... 3.1-0-39-0

Thats pretty impressive.
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I had the pleasure of watching the match live, Sunny was ill the previous day and on game day had 103 fever. It was a privilege to be there watching the man on that day. It was one of his finest ODI inning and at the time India needed it most. Sunny had said that he was going to retire after Reliance WC, it was the last match of the Group and India needed to score at 5+ to reach the Semis. It was also the last chance for Sunny to score his Maiden ODI 100 (unless India made it to the Semis).


Still remember Sunny's score of 103 Not out in 88 Balls, It was the same match where Chetan Sharma became the first Indian bowler to take a Hat-trick in Odis, by bowiling out Rutherford,Ian Smith and Chatfield. One of the memorable games I have watched.
 
Maximus0723

Maximus0723

State Regular
The forgotten legend.
The best opener, bar none.

But I still disagree with Sobers.

Also if you notice,
"This is not to belittle players like Vivian (Richards) Brian (Lara) or Sachin (Tendulkar). When you talk of Sachin he has done all that was expected of him,"
No mention of Ponting. 8-)

Yup, even the legends agree that Ponting doesn't deserve to be in that class.
 
AaronK

AaronK

State Regular
Certainly sir Sobers has his opinion...

but to me those batsman are great who at their best are nightmare for the bowlers... the likes of Lara, Richards, Sachin, Sehwag, KP, Gily and afew others have done this times after times... I would take them any day over Boycott and Gavasker...
 
Maximus0723

Maximus0723

State Regular
AaronK said:
Certainly sir Sobers has his opinion...

but to me those batsman are great who at their best are nightmare for the bowlers... the likes of Lara, Richards, Sachin, Sehwag, KP, Gily and afew others have done this times after times... I would take them any day over Boycott and Gavasker...
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lol whattttttttttttttttttttttt

KP, Gilly and Sehwag? really? not in test brathah.

P.S. For the record, I am talking about Gilly the batsman, not the player.
 
Sanz

Sanz

Hall of Fame Member
And I agree with Sobers, Sunny is the Best Test batsman of those that came after him.
 
Richard

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
Sobers > Gavaskar. Has long been identified as having trouble with modesty, has our Sir Garfield.
 
duffer

duffer

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Maximus0723 said:
The forgotten legend.
The best opener, bar none.

But I still disagree with Sobers.

Also if you notice,
"This is not to belittle players like Vivian (Richards) Brian (Lara) or Sachin (Tendulkar). When you talk of Sachin he has done all that was expected of him,"
No mention of Ponting. 8-)

Yup, even the legends agree that Ponting doesn't deserve to be in that class.
Click to expand...
Goddamn, please don't do this.
 
Sanz

Sanz

Hall of Fame Member
Streetwise said:
No Sanz I can post if I wish, If you dont want me posting on the Forum take it up with the mods.
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Of Course you can, mine was only a request to not have this thread turned into another Ponting Vs. Tendulkar thread.
 
Sanz

Sanz

Hall of Fame Member
Richard said:
Sobers > Gavaskar. Has long been identified as having trouble with modesty, has our Sir Garfield.
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So Sobers has trouble with Modesty ?

May I ask what has he said in this particular incident to sound so immodest esp when he starts like ""It's my approach, my view that Sunny Gavaskar is the greatest batsman I have come across."
 
Burgey

Burgey

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I think he might mean he's too modest about himself, though I can't be sure :).

Interesting piece. Not a fan of Gavaskar the person, but certainly a great player. We saw too little of him here, which was a shame - came here early 80s then again mid-80s iirc.

Probably came in 77 too but even though I went to one day of the Sydney test that tour, Australia was batting - highlight was Kim Hughes launching Bedi (I think) into the top deck of the members.
 
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