‘WI cricketers all stand on Sir Garry’s shoulders’: Ian Bishop

Sunil Gavaskar (left) and Ian Bishop at Bombay Gymkhana on Monday. Pic/Ashish Raje

Monday evening at the Bombay Gymkhana was one to cherish, as India batting legend Sunil Gavaskar and former West Indies pacer-turned-commentator Ian Bishop paid glowing tributes to the late Garfield Sobers, who passed away on July 17 in Barbados at the age of 89.

"I served on a couple of cricket committees with Sir Gary. Having talked to him and listened to him during those meetings, I realised he was a special human being. So, when I think of his passing a couple of months ago, it often brings tears to my eyes. I own this gentleman so much. The West Indies cricketers all stand on his shoulders," said Bishop.

Gavaskar went on to reveal how a dropped catch by Sobers during his Test debut helped him establish himself in the Indian team. "I owe my career to Sir Garfield Sobers. In my debut Test, I went for a drive and got a thick outside edge. It went straight to Sir Garfield, but he dropped it. I went on to score a half-century and kept my place in the team," Gavaskar recalled.

Describing Sobers as "the greatest of them all," Gavaskar however regretted not sharing a substantial partnership with him.

The closest he came was while representing the Rest of the World against Australia in Melbourne in 1971-72.

Gavaskar was batting when Sobers joined him, only to fall to Dennis Lillee off the first ball he faced. Sobers, however, made amends in the second innings with a memorable 254, and Gavaskar had a small, but significant role in that knock. "Have a look at the sweater he was wearing. When he asked for a sweater because Melbourne was windy, we all went and looked in his kit bag and found nothing. People were looking around, and there was my sweater. I ran and gave it to him," Gavaskar recalled.