bagapath
International Captain
With the guy turning 60, I think it is a good time to remember the first truly global, superstar Indian test cricketer.
Sunny was the greatest opening batsman in the world when I started watching cricket, way better than other stalwarts like Boycott, Greenidge, Haynes and Gooch. He was also easily among the top 5 batsmen in world cricket - Richards, G.Chappell, Miandad and Border being the other four (with Lloyd, Greenidge, Boycott, Gooch and Gower completing the top 10). I still consider him the best opener i have ever seen despite watching later stage Gooch, Taylor, Slater, Anwar, Hayden, Sehwag, Kirsten, Smith and Langer.
What made him special from an Indian perspective was the fact that, for the first time in world cricket, the opposition had to specifically worry about getting rid of this diminutive opener and sweat real hard to see his back if they were to achieve the easiest task otherwise of beating a sub-standard Indian team.
While India, over the years, always had world class spinners in Gupte, Mankad, Bedi, Chandra and Prasanna, their star batsmen were individual talents who somehow evoked awe and respect to a certain extent but were never huge stumbling blocks in defeating India. This is true for all-time greats like Merchant-Hazare and special talents like Umrigar. Viswanath was the first mercurial match winning Indian batsman on more than one occasion in the early 70s but his style was as erratic and unreliable as it was pulsating.
Gavaskar combined the organized batting technique of Hazare-Merchant and mixed Viswanath's big match play and added his own brand of steel and personal resilience to it to produce test match opening batting of the caliber of Hobbs and Hutton. The fact that he did it for close to two decades against, arguably, the greatest fast bowlers ever to have played in the same era is proof enough of his technical mastery and insatiable hunger for success.
Happy Birthday Mr.Gavaskar! You started it all.
Note: I was once invited to his son's birthday bash by a common friend. in the crowded party hall i positioned myself next to rohan and his wife along with my friend. while mrs. gavaskar actually came to that corner and spent a few minutes with us, i wasn't luck enough to get more than a glimpse of sunny. he was busy playing host to some of the big celebrities in the other corners of the hall. it didn't seem like a good time for me to go and pester so i played a dignified guest and hid my disappointment for three long hours.
Sunny was the greatest opening batsman in the world when I started watching cricket, way better than other stalwarts like Boycott, Greenidge, Haynes and Gooch. He was also easily among the top 5 batsmen in world cricket - Richards, G.Chappell, Miandad and Border being the other four (with Lloyd, Greenidge, Boycott, Gooch and Gower completing the top 10). I still consider him the best opener i have ever seen despite watching later stage Gooch, Taylor, Slater, Anwar, Hayden, Sehwag, Kirsten, Smith and Langer.
What made him special from an Indian perspective was the fact that, for the first time in world cricket, the opposition had to specifically worry about getting rid of this diminutive opener and sweat real hard to see his back if they were to achieve the easiest task otherwise of beating a sub-standard Indian team.
While India, over the years, always had world class spinners in Gupte, Mankad, Bedi, Chandra and Prasanna, their star batsmen were individual talents who somehow evoked awe and respect to a certain extent but were never huge stumbling blocks in defeating India. This is true for all-time greats like Merchant-Hazare and special talents like Umrigar. Viswanath was the first mercurial match winning Indian batsman on more than one occasion in the early 70s but his style was as erratic and unreliable as it was pulsating.
Gavaskar combined the organized batting technique of Hazare-Merchant and mixed Viswanath's big match play and added his own brand of steel and personal resilience to it to produce test match opening batting of the caliber of Hobbs and Hutton. The fact that he did it for close to two decades against, arguably, the greatest fast bowlers ever to have played in the same era is proof enough of his technical mastery and insatiable hunger for success.
Happy Birthday Mr.Gavaskar! You started it all.
Note: I was once invited to his son's birthday bash by a common friend. in the crowded party hall i positioned myself next to rohan and his wife along with my friend. while mrs. gavaskar actually came to that corner and spent a few minutes with us, i wasn't luck enough to get more than a glimpse of sunny. he was busy playing host to some of the big celebrities in the other corners of the hall. it didn't seem like a good time for me to go and pester so i played a dignified guest and hid my disappointment for three long hours.
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