Sunil Gavaskar's fans are upset that the original Indian little master was left out in ESPNcricinfo website's all-time World XI
Sunil Gavaskar's fans are upset that the original Indian little master was left out in ESPNcricinfo website's all-time World XI despite being the first man to score 10,000 plus runs and take 13 Test hundreds off the famed West Indies pace attack in his 1971 to 1987 Test match career. Sachin Tendulkar is the only Indian to make it in this dream team picked by a panel of experts.
"It would have been great to play in this dream team, to walk out with Bradman after lunch, or build a partnership with Viv Richards, and talk to Sobers about cricket," said Tendulkar.
Gavaskar missed out by just one point. MiD DAY expert and former Australia captain, Ian Chappell, who was one of the selectors of this team, waxed eloquent on Gavaskar, who he played against in the Australia vs Rest of the World series Down Under in 1971-72.
In a video interview put up by Cricinfo, this is what Chappelli, as he is known through the cricketing world, had to say about Gavaskar, Len Hutton, Jack Hobbs (who were picked as openers) and India's Virender Sehwag, who was his personal choice, but didn't get picked ultimately:
On Sunil Gavaskar: A lot of the people who played against Sunny... and I played against him too... I'd say the same thing ufffd of the batsmen I've seen, he was technically, the most correct. Yes, he was very much a traditional type of opener. And the thing that really stands out when you look at Sunny Gavaskar's career is that he played in an era when the West Indies had four mighty good quickies, and you look at Sunny's record against the West Indies ufffd it's fantastic. I think it was Imran Khan, who said that you judge a player on the strength of his opponents and certainly, in Sunny's case, you see the strength of the West Indies and you see Sunny's record against them and you think, 'that's a pretty good player.
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On Sir Len Hutton: Richie Benaud thought he was technically the best batsman he's ever seen. I did see Hutton as a kid, but I don't remember much about it. Apart from Richie's comments, I have also spoken to Keith Miller about having to bowl to Hutton. The thing that sways me towards Hutton is that he had to face Ray Lindwall and Miller a helluva lot in his career and when you perform at the level that he did, you think to yourself, 'this guy must have been able to play.'
On Sir Jack Hobbs: The thing that stands out about Hobbs is his longevity. Anybody who can make a hundred first-class hundreds after he turns 40... many guys don't get to a hundred never mind get another after they turn 40. Hobbs was a terrific batsman and the other thing I've read about him is that he was a great cover point fieldsman.
On Virender Sehwag: I personally went for Sehwag. I love watching Sehwag play. He can rip the bowling apart, but I wouldn't have any complaints about Hobbs and Hutton opening the batting.
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The team: Jack Hobbs, Len Hutton, Don Bradman, Sachin Tendulkar, Viv Richards, Garry Sobers, Adam Gilchrist, Malcolm Marshall, Shane Warne, Wasim Akram and Dennis Lillee.
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