Sunil Gavaskar has always maintained his defiance. Not on Virat Kohli’s misfield, though.
Few in sport have managed to carry their persona on the field into their life off it. Pele, the magician with a soccer ball, has failed to score many goals as an administrator. Imran, the lion on the cricket field, has so far been a lamb in the arena of politics. Greg Chappell, the most elegant of batsmen, managed to give a new hue to his reputation by the way he managed the Indian cricket team as coach.
Not Sunil Gavaskar, though. The 1970s and 80s bore Gavaskar’s stamp because, as one of the finest opening batsmen of all time, he stood up to the fiercest fast bowlers. And they do not come half as fierce now as they used to back then. What’s more, Gavaskar did it without a helmet. In the event, he earned respect for Indian batsmen all over the world.
After retiring from the game, Gavaskar became a columnist and broadcaster, and managed to retain all his defiance. As he stood up to the West Indies fast bowlers in his playing days, he has stood up to cricket administrators and the Australian bullies in his broadcasting days.
Of late, though, he seems to be behaving in a way that seems quite un-Gavaskarly. On Tuesday, as Sri Lanka almost chased India’s 414, Virat Kohli fumbled as a soft stroke sent the ball straight to him in the last over. At a time like this, Gavaskar would take the erring fielder apart.
Let’s look at just two of the thousands of parallels. A few weeks ago, as Ravinder Jadeja ran himself out and contributed to Sachin’s monumental 175 becoming a failed odyssey, Gavaskar took off the gloves to say that Jadeja seemed to lack the temperament required at the big stage. A few years ago, when Azharuddin ran himself out in Sharjah, Gavaskar said Azhar ran as if there was “no tomorrow”, and there may actually be “no tomorrow” for him. Those were the days when allegations of match fixing always lurked round the corner.
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But on Kohli’s misfield, he stayed muted. So the mind went back to a column Gavaskar wrote sometime ago, suggesting that Kohli should be in the team. A few days later, though, he wrote that players should be considered for national selection only after they had done enough time at the domestic level.
Kohli hasn’t. Not only that, he has not done much to earn a place in the national side, certainly not more than many others like the unfortunate Mohammed Kaif and the promising Badrinath. Still, he has already captained Delhi in the Ranji Trophy and is always in contention for a place in the national ODI side. What would Kaif have given for a reputation like Kohli’s?