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During the early monsoon week in the bay city of Bombay (now Mumbai), Sunil Gavaskar was born on July 10, 1949 to parents Manohar Gavaskar and Meenal Gavaskar. A few decades later, he would go on to become the first cricketer in the history of the sport to cross the monumental landmark of 10,000 runs in Test cricket, something which even Don Bradman couldn’t.
Cricket ran in the Gavaskar heritage. Manohar, Sunil’s father, identified the cricketing talent in his son at an early age. His maternal uncle, a former Mumbai and India batter, also supported the young Sunil immensely to transpire his talent and skills into something substantial. After toiling hard in age-group cricket and rising through the ranks, Sunil Gavaskar became an India cricketer in March 1971.
Coming out to bat for India must have been a privilege for Sunny but he had to face the might of the horror pace attack of the West Indies from the ‘70s when he was still a few months away from turning 22. Like his nickname, he came out shining, scoring 65 and 67* respectively in the first and second innings of his maiden international outing, helping India clinch a famous seven-wicket win at the Port of Spain. In this game, the world saw the first glimpse of what Gavaskar was, without an idea of what he would become next.
By the end of his debut series in the Caribbean, Gavaskar had become a household name, as he shattered the record books with 774 runs in four matches at an average of 154.80, which also included four centuries. These are mind-boggling numbers for any batter, let a debutant alone. But this was just the start, and Gavaskar was ready for more. He scored hundreds everywhere and against all kinds of bowling attacks – England, Australia, Subcontinent, literally everywhere.
And he feared none. In the cricketing anecdotes, Gavaskar is often mentioned as a bold and courageous stature, standing five-and-a-half feet tall, and taking on swaying pace attacks without any substantial protective headgear. He did not just survive in tricky conditions, but absolutely dominated and made the pitch his own every time he come out to bat.
He was also a part of the historic Indian team that went on to lift the illustrious 1983 World Cup. During this tournament, Gavaskar was also one of the frontrunners for the role of captaincy, but it was eventually handed down to Kapil Dev. Gavaskar did captain India, though. Leadership did not break Gavaskar’s balance as a batter at all. In 47 Tests as the skipper, he averaged 50.72, scoring 3449 runs, while 6673 came in 78 matches at 51.33 where he played as a specialist.
By the time Gavaskar retired, India were looking for an able successor and although it took a while, the mantle was carried forward by Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. Gavaskar famously predicted that Sachin will have at least 15000 runs and 40 centuries at the end of his Test career. Sachin achieved both comfortably, which indicates how acute reader of the game Gavaskar was and continues to be, as he continues work as well-revered commentator even as he turns 77.
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