Controversy seems to follow Gavaskar and vice versa. Here are some masala stories...
Controversy seems to follow Gavaskar and vice versa. Here are some masala stories...Row over NCA
Gavaskar quit as committee member of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in December, 2000 as he was livid over the fact that Raj Singh Dungarpur, the NCA chairman, slammed him for criticising the decision to field a NCA team in a warm-up tie for the visiting Zimbabweans in Indore.
In the build-up to a NCA meeting, MiD DAY published an interview with Raj Singh, who said: "One gentleman (read Gavaskar) being a member of the NCA said in his newspaper column that the NCA should not have been given a game (against Zimbabwe). Such people should either resign from the academy, or take it on, or fall in line. No, you can't run with the hares and hunt with the hounds. These are your big names." Gavaskar read the interview and went to the meeting with his resignation. Later in the day, he said his pride did not allow him to sit on a committee chaired by a man (Raj Singh) whom he didn't respect.u00a0
England wounds
After India clinched the 2001 Test series 1-0 over Nasser Hussain's team, Gavaskar wrote: "Why our Board is keen on having a five-Test series when England visit India next, is beyond comprehension, for without the slightest doubt, they are the most unattractive and boring side to have played cricket in India." England coach Duncan Fletcher was livid. "After these comments, I lost respect (for Gavaskar)," he said.
Contractor, not coolWhile talking to Gavaskar's childhood friend Milind Rege in Aug 2003, former India captain Nari Contractor criticised the selectors' move to pick Gavaskar's son Rohan in the India 'A' team.
By then, Gavaskar had returned to the National Cricket Academy as chairman. In September, Contractor discovered through a media report that he had been replaced by Ashok Mankad as chief officer of the Talent Resources Development wing which came under the purview of the NCA.
Contractor was convinced that Gavaskar played a role in his sacking because of that argument with Rege. Gavaskar reacted to Contractor's view by saying, "if he or anybody thinks that (his removal) is because of that argument, I have no problems with that. That was not the reason as Dilip Vengsarkar and Brijesh Patel (NCA biggies too) will verify."
Click here to read second part of Sunil Gavaskar's controversies prior to Kochi, Part 2
