Ahmedabad. On March 6, 1971, when a five-foot-five-inch Indian boy landed in his home without a helmet against the best Caribbean team of the time, no one thought he would go that far. The boy first became the best batsman in the world and later the greatest cricket legend. Yes, we are talking about 71-year-old Sunil Gavaskar. On Saturday, Gavaskar will have 50 years of international cricket debut. On this occasion, Abhishek Tripathi held a special conversation with Sunil Gavaskar. Here are the excerpts
50 years of international cricket debut, what do you think?
– It has been a very happy 50 years. It was my privilege to play for India. There were moments that got a chance to be a part of it. There were some good moments and some bad moments in which the Indian team did not perform well. However, we overcame him and won. Certainly a special feeling is happening at this time.
What would happen if there were no cricketers?
– I wanted to become a doctor. My aunt was a doctor. I used to go to his dispensary. There the middle class and poor people used to come for treatment. She used to take care of them. Seeing the respect and love I had for my aunt in the eyes of patients, I wanted to become a doctor. I have always believed that this is the best profession in the world. If someone has a disease, you get cured, if someone is in pain, then give medicines, give them comfort. However, when I came in second or third grade, I came to know that I do not have enough talent to become a doctor next.
-Why do you help sick children for this reason?
– I am a trustee of the Heart to Heart Foundation. They run Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Hospital at three places. It consists of young children who have heart disease. For 17–18 years, their treatment is free for longer than that. I support what happens to me, but it is nothing because the need is so much more than this. I would like to take a little time to tell you that every year more than three lakh children are born in India who have a congenital heart defect. Of this, more than 90,000 do not even see their next birthday. If I do a little bit in it, then I get pleasure. When parents come to the hospital with these children, there is no hope on their faces. After the operation, when they are told that your child is cured, then I have seen the joy that comes on their face. There is more to it than scoring a double century in a match.
-You also wanted to become a wrestler?
Yes, my tau used to take me to Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium in Worli. Dara Singh used to come to wrestle freestyle there. There was also a wrestler named Akram from Pakistan. When there was a wrestling between Dara Singh and Akram, it was a lot of fun. When Dara Singh used to spin the aeroplane, that is, when he used to lift the opposition on his head and spin it like a chakri, everyone would get up and go because everyone knew that the match was over. One was their Scorpion sting bets. He would hold the opposing wrestler with his feet, and we would have won. I was very fond of wrestling then.
-Are there anything so rude that I have not been able to do that work?
-No, there is no malaise. I am quite satisfied. God has mercy. Because of that, I am here today.
In the World Cup against England on June 7, 1975, you scored 36 runs in 174 balls. Were you upset with the ODI format?
See what happened, at that time the Indian team did not play much ODI and we did not practice it. There was a little grass on the pitch and the ball was shaking. The ball did not come in the bat for 10-15 overs. I was either doing play and miss or the ball seemed to be on the pad. When the ball came on a half-volley or a half-pitch, I cut and drive it, but the ball went straight to the fielder. Two-three years ago (in ODIs against England in 2018) I saw veteran batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni playing at the same Lord’s ground, who has a lot of shots from me. His innings was going on like that. Wherever he was hitting the shot, the ball was going to the fielder. You were probably in that match .. He finally hit some big shots. India lost that match. Seeing his innings, I remembered my 36-run innings. I don’t want to compare because Dhoni is a very good cricketer in me in limited overs cricket. I do not want to compare them down. Sometimes you miss your batting after watching good innings. You miss something by looking at such a bad innings. When I saw Dhoni struggling in that match, I remembered my innings for the first time. Seeing his innings, I thought that 40-42 years ago, I had played an extra innings on this ground.
Half a decade has gone by, you played your first international match. How much did cricket change?
– According to me this game has changed a lot and changed for good. In the last 15 years, it has become a career option. Prior to IPL and before coming to satellite TV rights, every cricketer used to work with playing. At that time, the Indian team also did not play cricket for 10–11 months a year. Then there was three to four months of cricket and after that the cricketers had to work. In the off-season, cricketers used to work 10 to six jobs in Tata, Railways, SBI and other companies. Now he is not. The cricketers can now concentrate on cricket for 12 consecutive months due to the money received from IPL and the broadcaster. Can practice. this
it’s a good thing. Yes, now cricket has changed in terms of playing. Now batsmen play very less defensively. They want to play aggressively right away. There is a problem when the ball is seaming, swinging or spinning. Then the defense is not seen. However, it is also true that it is fun to watch aggressive shots.
In this series, there has been talk of weak defense. How should batsmen harmonize in T20 and Test batting?
-It is a matter of mindset. If you look at Rohit and Virat, their mindset changes for every format. For this, you have to adjust the brain and then the pace of the bat. This is why both of them are successful in all formats. If this continues, it will never be a problem. Those who are unable to do this are struggling. Now very few such wickets are found where the challenge takes place. Now-a-days and T20 cricket will be found in the Pata pitch, the boundary has become smaller, the bats are coming stronger, even if a miss is hit, the ball goes for a six, so the batsmen think less about the defense. If two or three dot balls go, then it comes in their mind that I should go out and wrap it. If the shot is corrected then it is sixed. Batsmen use jail break shots. It never succeeds, never. Where the ball is getting seam, swinging, there is no aggressive shot.
– Who are your favorite cricketers?
-My favorite cricketer was ML Jayasimha. It was just three days before his birthday. He is no longer in this world. I was fortunate that he was also involved in my first West Indies tour. He had the opportunity to learn from his experience. He was accompanied by several senior players such as Ajit Wadekar, Erapalli Prasanna and Satya Sai. Learned a lot from them. After that I liked Gundappa Vishwanath, Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Mahela Jayawardene. The way they used to make batting easy, they were quite fun to watch. I have not yet given the complete list because I like many more cricketers. Forgive me some names, forgive me.
-Who is the favorite among current cricketers?
-I love Rohit Sharma in what he is playing now because he makes batting very easy. The other is Kane Williamson who has very good technique. The way he bats in all formats looks very good. The mentality of Virat Kohli, the way he also bats, is also good. I have not seen much of Babar Azam of Pakistan, but he has been seen very effective in whatever I have seen. It’s fun to see them too
Despite crossing the -71 spring, you are still very young. After the third Test match, where do you bring such energy from the side of the ground to increase the enthusiasm of the audience?
– It is God’s grace. (Jokingly) I would say find a wife who does not go to the kitchen. I did not let my wife go to the kitchen. The matter is simple brother, if wife cooks food, you have to eat whole or not, whether you like it or not and the weight will increase as much as you eat. If your wife is someone who does not go to the kitchen, she will not say eat it, eat it. Then you can eat as much space as you have in your stomach. Maybe that helped me a lot.
-Your best and worst moment in cricket?
– My best moment is the same, when the Indian team won the World Cup in 1983. It was an unforgettable moment for me and will always be the same. And the worst moment is the one you mentioned, that innings of 36 runs. I could not do anything for my country there.
– You were the first batsman to score 10,000 runs in Tests. Do you think this format of cricket will survive the World Test Championship?
– It may be that the test survives. However, if seen, all those who play cricket nowadays are fans of Test cricket. They all know that if they are to be named in history, then they will have to score runs in Test, take wickets. One-day and T20 runs are fine, but only those who have achieved success in Tests will be remembered.
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