“I can't see any overt weakness in this Indian team.” But how strong was the team that he played for? Here’s Sunil Gavaskar comparing the generational shift in the gentleman’s game. He also turned 71 today.
Thanks to ConnectedtoIndia.com for the footage!
Thanks to ConnectedtoIndia.com for the footage!
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00:00You know, India winning the World Cup, I mean, it still gives me, you know, goosebumps, still
00:10brings tears to my eyes. Till Rohit gets a hundred, I'm not going to eat gulab jamun.
00:14So, I'm just giving an example. And gulab jamun might be that person's, you know, favorite
00:18weakness, biggest weakness. But till Rohit gets a hundred, he will not have it. And Rohit
00:25may never meet that guy ever in his life. Tell me this, you say that you enjoy watching
00:30cricket now more than ever, right, before. Why is that? Is it because the game has evolved
00:35and there's some new technology, new rules, new formats, which some people would say has
00:41changed the game not for good? Well, I think, obviously, there are going to be, you know,
00:44the connoisseurs of the game are not very happy with the latest format, the T20 format.
00:49I think it has energized the game. I think it has brought new shocks in the game. The
00:54reverse sweep, the switch hit, the scoop, the ramp shot, you know, you name it. The
00:59bowling is also the slow bounce on the back of the hand, the knuckle ball. There are so
01:03many more, you know, things to cricket than when we played. And I do believe that the
01:08cricket is, you know, far more entertaining now, simply because of the influence of limited
01:13overs cricket. Earlier on, you left deliveries outside the off stump, you know, quite a lot.
01:18Now that doesn't happen. So, maybe you don't get too many guys scoring 300s. But, you know,
01:24there is pretty much, you know, a boundary and over or, you know, something or very few
01:28made in overs today. Look at the fitness of the players. Look at the agility of the players.
01:33Look at their athleticism. What's not there to enjoy about modern day cricket? It's a
01:38very, very entertaining game. And even test cricket, now you get results. You know, there's
01:43barely a drawn test match. That will be only because, you know, weather has, you know,
01:48washed out a couple of days play or something like that. So, I think it's just very, very
01:54entertaining, very, very enjoyable. So, I love watching it. As a spectator, as a former
01:58cricketer, I just love watching it. Anything that you feel is missing on the field
02:01that was there when you used to play? I think maybe the electricity which is there
02:12now wasn't there, you know, when we played. Because there was a certain, you know, relaxed
02:18air about test cricket when we played. It was still competitive.
02:21Yeah, and very intense. Yeah, very intense. There was no quarter given,
02:24no quarter asked for. But there was just a slightly relaxed air about the game. I think
02:30now there is lot more electricity, you know, lot more activity, lot more, lot more intensity
02:38if I might say so. So, I think, I just think most of the changes have been positive. I
02:47can't really think of anything that you could say, you know, is not great for the game.
02:52No, I don't think there's anything. What do you think are the strengths and weaknesses
02:56of Virat's team? There's possibly, and the opening needs to
03:00be a little more strong. Now, the South Africa series has given us a Rohit Sharma at the
03:05top of the order. It's also given us Mayank Agarwal who has consolidated his place as
03:11an opening batsman. I just think that, you know, there is no apparent weakness in this
03:18Indian team. There were five wonderful players with somebody like Jadeja now taking his batting
03:25seriously and therefore making a regular contribution with the bat 50s, 60s, 70s. So, that is there
03:34and then at number seven, eight we have an Ashwin and a Saha. So, our batting, you know,
03:40has depth. It's also got variety in terms of bowling. You've got, you know, depending
03:44on the pitches you can have two seam bowlers and three spinners or three seam bowlers and
03:49Jadeja and Ashwin. So, I think that way, you know, the Indian team is well covered. I can't
03:55see any overt weakness in this, in this Indian team. The only thing that you can possibly
04:04say is an area which has been there since 1932 is where Indian bowlers have not always
04:11been able to take numbers 8, 9, 10, 11 out quickly. Even in 1932, the first ever test
04:17match that we played, we had five England wickets down for I think, if I remember rightly,
04:22now we are going back, you know, almost a hundred years ago. I think we had first five
04:28English wickets down for something like a hundred and then the last five wickets added
04:32another 150 or 200 to take England to 300 and therefore, so, which was happening regularly.
04:38And the only explanation that I have is that, you know, sometimes the non-regular batsmen
04:43don't get as close to the ball and therefore, play and miss, play and miss, play and miss
04:47and they, you know, it's like frustrating. While the batsmen, being regular batsmen get
04:52closer to the ball and nick it and get caught. So, but that is an area that India can do
04:57something about where I think, you know, a genuine, genuine quickie, somebody like
05:03a Bumrah with the yorker and bouncer combination as well as the variety that he has should
05:07be able to blast 8, 9, 10, 11 out or a very good leg spinner. A very good leg spinner
05:16is always tempting because leg spinners generally, you know, get through 8, 9, 10, 11 very quickly
05:21because batsmen at that stage aren't able to pick the googly or with the tossed up ball
05:26or wanting to go for the big hit because they are not regular batsmen. So, if India
05:30can get that, then I think India will have a complete team.
05:33Now, Rohit Sharma was here in Singapore last year and you know, when I was talking to him,
05:36he said that at the beginning of his career when he used to face the Aussies, it was a
05:41bit overwhelming. You know, these six footers charging from all sides and he said it did
05:45get overwhelming and they don't keep quiet. So, they are talking at you and you know,
05:49on all of that. You never had that problem, did you? A six foot eight inch guy never could
05:55racket you and nobody can fathom that what that atmosphere would have been like, the
06:01one that you played in.
06:02I think I, you know, luckily in my case, I had the ability to shut everything off. Having
06:09said that, I have to say that there wasn't that much chat when we played. Very, very
06:12seldom was there. You know, somebody who got, you know, tried to get, you know, we didn't
06:17have people really having a go at you.
06:21Really?
06:23Yeah, which is the reason why, you know, when the Australians are talked about, I say, but
06:27you know, when we played there was very little that we heard. Okay, there was the usual encouraging
06:32each other which happens but saying something to you directly was something that, you know,
06:38we didn't experience. And again, you know, I think my strength has always been my concentration
06:46and therefore when my concentration was, you know, I mean, was there, whatever happened
06:51around me didn't really matter. Even today, if I am in a room and the room could be full
06:57of, you know, maybe 20, 100 people and there is a lot of noise going on. But if I am reading
07:02a book, I will be able to read the book without being disturbed by the noise around me. It
07:05could be just next to me. And I think that's God given this concept.
07:09And do you think fearlessness and courage is the biggest virtue for a player because
07:14you have had that in abundance?
07:16I think you got to have self-belief as well. You can be fearless but along with it I think
07:23you got to have a little bit of self-belief. You got to have a lot of common sense as far
07:27as cricket is concerned. And I think if you have that then you will be able to handle
07:31yourself in most situations whether you are a batsman or a bowler.
07:35You have always said that 83 was the most unbelievable moment. Is it still something
07:41up there that doesn't kind of compare to anything else?
07:44I don't think it matches it. You know, India winning the World Cup, I mean, it still gives
07:50me, you know, goosebumps, still brings tears to my eyes because, you know, it's the greatest
07:57moment of my cricketing life. I mean, obviously, becoming a father, becoming a grandfather,
08:02you know, those things are, it's a different emotion.
08:04Indian fan is incredible. The love that you get from the Indian fans is incredible. Sometimes
08:10they can be demanding because they invest so much.
08:14Their emotions in you. And, you know, I think we are blessed to have that kind of, you know,
08:21that kind of a following. That kind of a following where people do all kinds of, you know, mannats
08:25if you might say. So, that, you know, okay, till, say for example, till Rohit gets a hundred
08:30I am not going to eat gulab jamun. I am just giving an example. And gulab jamun might be
08:34that person's, you know, favorite. Weakness, biggest weakness.
08:38But till Rohit gets a hundred he will not have it. And Rohit may never meet that guy
08:44ever in his life. But he has got that guy who feels so much for Rohit that he is prepared
08:50to sacrifice. I am giving Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli's name as just an example.
08:54And that is the kind of blessing that Indian cricketers have. That they have these unknown
08:58fans who they will probably never ever see, who are praying for them, who are wanting
09:03them to succeed. And in the success of the Kohli's and the Sharma's and the Ashwin's
09:10and, you know, the Pujara's lies the joy of this unknown fan. And I think that is India,
09:17Indian cricket's greatest blessing.