A glimpse into Gavaskar's genius

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CNN-IBN's Editor-In-Chief Rajdeep Sardesai writes a special article on the 60th birthday of India's most famous opening batsman Sunil Gavaskar.

If you were a teenager in Mumbai in the 1970s and 80s, you cut your teeth watching Sunil Gavaskar bat and Amitabh Bachchan emote. For an entire generation of Indians, Gavaskar at the crease was the ultimate symbol of cricketing nationalism just as Bachchan was the presiding Bollywood deity.

Gavaskar’s technique may not have triggered the excitement that accompanied a Kapil Dev or a Chandrashekhar coming in to bowl, but his batting feats inspired a sense of awe and pride that only Tendulkar has since been able to match. When Gavaskar took on the mighty West Indians, it was cricket’s answer to David versus Goliath, the size differential confirming the mammoth achievement of the man. Not once did he flinch, not once did he take a step back while battling the fastest bowlers in the world.

Gavaskar’s achievements don’t need to be recounted; they have been celebrated for years. The story I am about to tell you though will not be found in cricket’s archives, but even more than the staggering statistics, it offers a glimpse into the man’s cricketing genius.

The year was 1991. It was three years since the great man had retired from international cricket with a memorable innings in the Lords bicentennial match. Sport for Gavaskar was now an afternoon badminton game at the Bombay Gymkhana and the occasional Saturday afternoon 25 overs bash at the Gymkhana ground. It was on one such Saturday afternoon that I happened to meet him sipping a cup of lemon tea. I was captain of the club team at the time and we had a tournament match the next day against Gavaskar’s original club, Dadar Union.

Dadar Union was a legendary club in Mumbai’s maidan cricket, its status having been enhanced by Gavaskar’s cult status. Over the years, it had produced a string of top class test and first class cricketers. When you played Dadar Union , you were often playing a first class team, not a club team. By contrast, Bombay Gymkhana was the classic colonial club: here, cricket was played in between generous glasses of nimbu pani, and our team had several players for whom cricket was a leisurely pastime. Gentlemen versus Players, Bombay Gymkhana versus Dadar Union was a no contest in pure cricketing terms.

It was therefore with more hope than conviction that I asked the great man if he would like to play the Sunday game. After all, Gavaskar was identified with Dadar Union, why would he wish to play against his old club side? Well, he would, if only for one simple reason: a few days previous to our meeting, a few uncharitable remarks had been passed against the little master by a certain Dadar Union official. Gavaskar hadn’t responded in print. He was now ready to respond with the bat. He agreed to play the Sunday game for Bombay Gymkhana against Dadar Union.

Next morning, he was on the ground at 10 a.m. sharp. When they saw him line up for the Gymkhana team, the Dadar Union team couldn’t quite believe it. Here was their icon, playing against them. We lost the toss and were fielding first. For me to captain Gavaskar was a bit like a film extra being asked to direct Amitabh Bachchan. Gavaskar though put me at ease, heading to a familiar position in the slips. He even volunteered to bowl a few overs. Dadar Union scored around 260 odd runs and it was our turn to bat.

I asked Gavaskar what number he’d like to bat. Prompt came the reply: is number five ok? We lost a couple of wickets early and were around 100 for three when the champion batsman walked in. Dadar Union had a couple of young quick bowlers in their line up. The presence of Gavaskar at the crease appeared to galvanise them. A few bouncers followed. Gavaskar was 42 at the time, but evading a bouncer for him was like driving a car, age has little to do with the motion. Gavaskar played himself in for the first few overs, like he had done all his life. After half an hour at the crease, he was bounced again. This time, the ball was dispatched over the ropes. The young bowlers had got the message: age doesn’t dilute a man’s appetite for runs. He batted till the end, eventually scoring the winning run.