Sunil Gavaskar, the first batsman to make 10,000 runs in Test cricket, is celebrating his 71st birthday today, however, he is not celebrating it owing to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic which has taken lives of over 21,000 Indians.
“There won’t be any celebrations in view of the ongoing pandemic where many lives have been lost and restrictions brought in by way of safety and precaution. So these are times when one does lots of introspection. God and life have blessed me with many good things, for which I remain grateful to so many, especially my family and extended family of well-wishers,” Gavaskar said in an interview to Times of India.
"The timeless message of Shri Sathya Sai Baba, ‘Love All, Serve All’, could be the panacea to many of life’s problems and ills. I wish to re-dedicate my life hereafter in seeing what I can do to spread love and serve — a dire need of the times we are living in,” the legend added.
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The 1983 World Cup winner and former India captain shared his fitness mantra which keeps him going even at 71.
“Fitness is relative. What could be good for me may not be good enough for another. Fortunately there’s a terrace which I use every evening for about 90 minutes for exercising. Luckily, I am not a foodie and eat sparingly, so that’s helped me in keeping in reasonable shape,” he said.
Talking about life in Coronavirus lockdown, the little master said that though he hasn’t ventured into the cooking field like many others, he still has mastered the art of making tea and called himself the ‘best tea maker in the world.’
“Yes, there’s so much time on one’s hands now but at least the time table can be set by yourself than others. I'm back to reading books, fiction mainly, and trying to learn Spanish as well as doing regular chores left-handed. As for cooking, no (I) haven’t ventured there but am still the best tea-bag tea-maker in the world. Ask my fellow commentators. Irfan is good but even he agrees that I am just that bit better. Maybe because I have more experience,” he said.
