While Amitabh Bachchan and Kishore Kumar were dominating the acting and music industry respectively in the 1970s, there was a boy from Bombay named Sunil Gavaskar carrying a young nation’s hopes on his shoulders in the field of cricket.
March 6 marks the 50th anniversary of Gavaskar’s association with Indian cricket. The first batsman to reach 10,000 runs in Test cricket, Gavaskar had made his Test debut against the West Indies at the Port of Spain in 1971. He went on to make a record 774 runs in his debut series at an average of 154.80 with 4 centuries and 3 half-centuries.
“Mr Bachchan still is India’s greatest icon and the late Kishore Kumar is evergreen and unforgettable. So if you ask me, I am humbled to have been even thought of in the same bracket,” Gavaskar told PTI in an exclusive interview.
Sharing the feeling of his debut game, the 71-year-old said: “There was elation at finally being able to wear my country’s cap. There was nervousness too because we were playing a team led by the greatest, Sir Gary Sobers.”
Gavaskar 774 runs remains a world record for most runs by a batsman in his debut Test series till date and the former opener feels that he would have been happy to score even 400 runs.
“It sure took a long time to sink. All I wanted at that stage was not to make a fool of myself. If I had scored even 350 to 400 runs I would have been satisfied,” Gavaskar said.
“I did say later on that I would have been happy to have 374 out of the 774 runs being divided between my hero ML Jaisimha and the large-hearted genius Salim Durani so that they could have kept their places for the tour of England that followed the West Indies trip,” he added.
During his illustrious career, Gavaskar never wore a helmet even against fearsome fast bowlers like Jeff Thomson, Dennis Lillee, Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall, Imran Khan among others.
When asked about the same, he said: “Look, even when I was beginning my club career the opposition bowlers were bouncing at me. Yes the pace was not as great as at the international level but I had got used to it and I always looked at the bouncer as a scoring opportunity. That way you kept your eye on the ball always and could bail out if the ball came quicker at you.”
For the post-1990s generation, Gavaskar is the “voice of Indian cricket” as he has earned the reputation of being one of the esteemed commentators in the world.
“When I first started commentary, we were told that if you had nothing to add to the picture then don’t speak.
“However, with the advent of commercial TV the commentators are encouraged to speak more especially towards the end of the over as the advertisements come on at the end of the over.
“Since technology dominates our everyday world, it’s no surprise that it finds its way in TV coverage too.”
Asked how would he have handled Twitter, Instagram and Facebook trolls in his playing days, Gavaskar said: “I don’t take myself seriously so have never felt the need to tell the world what I am doing here and there. If I have to wish somebody, I will either call or send a personal message rather than do so publicly. And no, I don’t lose sleep over what somebody who I don’t know has to say about me.”
(With PTI inputs)
