Sunil Gavaskar: ‘You call yourself the fittest team in the world… then how do you break down so soon?’
At 74, Sunil Gavaskar is undoubtedly the voice of Indian cricket. He is acknowledged as not just one of the greatest opening batsmen in the world, but when he played, he also took it upon himself to represent players’ issues to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
In this Idea Exchange, one of Indian cricket’s finest exponents, Sunil Gavaskar, speaks of the confidence that has powered his career on and off the field, the need for accountability of captains and coaches and why the 1983 World Cup win was a milestone. The session was moderated by Sriram Veera, Deputy Associate Editor.
Devendra Pandey: There are two stars in India whose mass appeal hasn’t changed through generations: You and Amitabh Bachchan. What is your mantra to be active, updated and relevant? Would you like to continue like Richie Benaud or does the thought of quitting commentary come sometimes?
The important thing is to enjoy what you are doing. I tell new people joining commentary to speak what they feel about the game as that is important. But, don’t take yourselves seriously. The moment you feel your opinion matters, when things don’t go according to what your opinion is, it starts to make you negative. I don’t take myself seriously at all. The number of times you might have heard me crack a joke at myself, that’s because I just go out there to enjoy myself.
