Sunil Gavaskar is a man of his word. Not that proof is needed, but sample it for confirmation if you want.
On 23 December 1981, on the opening day of the third Test of England’s tour of India in Delhi, Geoff Boycott overtook Garfield Sobers’ long-standing record of 8,032 runs, the highest score by any batsman in Test history at that time. It was the biggest record. Boycott celebrated this achievement with a century and followed it up with an unbeaten 34 in the second innings.
At an official function organized for both the teams by the Delhi and District Cricket Association, Indian captain Gavaskar gave a speech, congratulating Boycott on his achievement and telling him to “enjoy it for two years.” At that time, Gavaskar was more than 1,500 runs behind Boycott’s run tally. As promised, and to no one’s surprise, the Little Master maintained his link to history less than 23 months later, against the West Indies at Ahmedabad in November 1983.
This and more flowed freely in Bengaluru on Saturday afternoon when former Kiwi fast bowler Simon Doull had an interesting conversation with two masters of technique around all things cricket as part of the Midwicket Stories series , which is an entertaining initiative. Earlier, Gavaskar was seen chatting with Allan Border in Sydney in 2022 and Viv Richards in Dubai last year.
Boycott, who flew in from Cape Town especially for the event, was in his element, reliving a house filled with many stories of the past in his unique style and tone. The quick-witted Gavaskar was equally entertaining, the twinkle in his eyes every time he made a quip indicating the amazing chemistry he had with the older man and the mutual respect that characterized their relationship that spanned 50 years. More than. years young.
A big fan of all things Indian – a mutual affair, given how brilliantly the country has taken to him – Boycott said, only half jokingly, “If I’m born again, I’ll be as an Indian cricketer. I would like to be born.” If he was tongue in cheek, it was only half-heartedly; After all, he has been celebrated as much in India as he has been in Leeds and England.
Doull wondered whether any of them would have been happier playing in the current era. “I was very happy when I played,” Gavaskar said, recalling a time when the game was civilized, but the stakes were still just as high, even if the returns were little to no. Was. They were not backing down from boycotting. “I would love to play now. I would come here with three empty suitcases and fill them completely.
“Filled them with runs, or…?” Gavaskar asked, absolutely innocent!
“Money, money,” Boycott immediately returned, as another badly hidden secret fell out of the cupboard.
It was not so much about ‘oh, our cricket was better than theirs’, but remembering the past while celebrating and accepting the present. Gavaskar, in his brilliant oratory, led the development of cricket to where it has reached today. “The modern game is tough,” said the man with 10,122 Test runs, who was the first man to touch the 10K summit. “Also, it is great entertainment because there are a lot of shots, you see more sixes and fours. We have been brought up to look at the new ball – to take the shine off the ball. Modern cricketers take away the shine by hammering the ball! I like to see (today’s) batting, bowling and fielding type entertainment offerings. It is thrilling to see players diving, flying in the air, taking some incredible catches.”
Doull, who regained his rhythm after a slow start, asked for Boycott’s thoughts on ‘Buzzball’. After admitting that England needed to move on from Joe Root – the team led by Boycott’s fellow Yorkshireman who had won just one of the last 17 Test matches – and Brendon McCullum to promote an aggressive brand of Test cricket. Were fans of – they raided England. Losing the Ashes and losing 1-4 in India earlier this year is stupid.
“They’ve gone too far with this,” he thundered. “They want to save England cricket, all of Test cricket. But no sir, the aim is to win the test match or series. We lost two Ashes Tests and the series by playing stupid cricket and the same happened against India. They came into the series the same way we have practiced in Abu Dhabi and everywhere else. But bowlers like (R) Ashwin, (Ravindra) Jadeja have not got their wickets without talent. Play with aggression, which is appropriate, but also have a little common sense.”
Boycott puts Imran Khan at the top of the quartet of all-rounders – Kapil Dev, Ian Botham and Richard Hadlee were the others – who graced the cricket world during their peak. “His bowling was excellent. He could bat – not as free as Kapil, not as free as Botham, but he could bat intelligently. But his captaincy. Whoever can captain Pakistan is a genius because they are absolute idiots, right? They (Pakistan) can be absolutely very bad, or they can play with passion, emotion. He has talent but he can be so undisciplined. I’m giving him credit because in his own way, he would tell them this and that and he could do it himself and no one would talk to him. In fact, if I had to pick a World XI, out of all the guys I played against, I would pick him as captain.
This conversation was a lot of fun while it lasted. Unfortunately for everyone gathered there, it didn’t last long. After all, Gavaskar had batted for 702 minutes against England, boycott and all, at the same Garden City in December 1981, scoring 172 runs. just saying.
