India
Batsman
D.O.B: 10.07.1949
International Career: 1971 – 1987
“Sunil Gavaskar was the one bloke, as an opener, you wanted to see the back of. Because when he gets in, he books lunch and dinner and overnight accommodation.” – Sir Ian Botham
A fine record and an infectious smile, Gavaskar is GOTG 8
India’s original batting pioneer, Sunil Gavaskar instilled in the passionate Indian people the idea that they could become the greatest cricketing nation. With unerring determination and versatility, the diminutive Indian brought about a revolution in Test match batting.
Born in former Bombay, Gavaskar came from a rich cricketing pedigree and was surrounded by the game from the first. His father a passionate club player, Gavaskar’s uncle, M.K. Mantri, represented India on four occasions as a wicket-keeper. Inspired by his familial role models, the young batsman became so absorbed in cricket that he famously learned to read numbers from scoreboards. It’s a good thing he did, too, for when Gavaskar began playing the game competitively as a young schoolboy, the very same scoreboards would soon be replete with his own big scores.
Rising to acclaim at the age of seventeen when he was pronounced India’s Best Schoolboy Cricketer, Gavaskar didn’t look back; his immense powers of concentration combined with a versatile artistry at the wicket allowing for extraordinary consistency at every level he played. A typically measured opening batsman, his exemplary technique impressed all those who saw him, and he was selected to play for India after just six First Class matches.
Quickly establishing himself as a bona fide international, a twenty-one-year-old Gavaskar dominated his maiden series at the highest level against the fearsome West Indies. Making 65 and 67* on debut, how fitting it was that Gavaskar’s arrival to the Test scene coincided with India’s first victory over the West Indies; the youngster truly heralded a new age for Indian cricket. Going on to score 774 runs at 154.8 in that series, Gavaskar made the rest of the world sit up and pay attention – not only to him, but to India. This would remain true for the next decade and a half.
Effortless at the wicket
Continuing to earn respect the world over, Gavaskar established a reputation as one of the world’s most courageous and wilful batsmen. Taking on the great West Indians, along with the likes of Botham, Imran Khan and Sir Richard Hadlee, journalist Sunandan Lele contends that “his ability to play top class fast bowling was what Gavaskar was all about.” Of course, his grit and determination can belie the fact the ‘Sunny’ was one of the most aesthetically pleasing players of any era. With a technique built upon an impregnable defence, he had an expansive range of strokes, and was equally proficient off both the front and back feet. More surgeon than butcher, Tony Lewis celebrates the deft nature with which Gavaskar played the slower bowlers too, describing him as “the best player of spin bowling,” he recalls Gavaskar was “always balanced, and forever with time whether playing right out to the pitch of the ball, or back to watch and wait.”
Blessed with the tools of extravagance, perhaps Gavaskar’s greatest strength lay in his discretion. Writing for Wisden in 1980, Dicky Rutnagur lauded his “intense discipline” and an ability to summon it when his team was in “desperate trouble or a chance for a win.” Where a lesser player might prefer to overpower a bowler, Gavaskar would sooner trade flamboyancy for stoicism in order to give his Indian side the solidity they so desperately craved. This would set him apart from his peers, and encourage a process of self-actualisation in Indian cricket; Sachin Tendulkar recalls that Gavaskar was his childhood hero and that “it was always fantastic to watch him.” Even today, R. Ashwin praises the fact that Gavaskar “showed the Indian batting line-up what could be done,” going on to suggest “there is still massive respect for him in the team.”
Batting in his trademark hat, Gavaskar would wear down bowling attacks around the world
Going on to captain India on 47 occasions in Test cricket, his record at the helm was not overly inspiring; often compelled to conservative tactics due to the bowling attacks he had at his disposal, he captained 30 draws. That said, Gavaskar harboured a fervent desire to see India thrive, and it was his batting, more so than tactical nous, that allowed it to. The first Indian to reach 10,000 Test runs, he also eclipsed Sir Donald Bradman’s record of 29 Test centuries. Inarguably the most successful opening batsman of any generation, Bradman described him as “an ornament to cricket.”
Paving the way for the great Indian batsmen who followed him, including Laxman, Dravid and his protégé Tendulkar, Gavaskar’s legacy is writ large on Indian cricket. Instilling an irresistible confidence and unwavering belief in a nation that is evident to this day, Gavaskar is not only a great of Indian cricket, but of the game more broadly.
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