As the apex court suggested Sunil Gavaskar's name for the BCCI President's post till investigations in the spot fixing are complete, former Indian captain insisted that IPL should be held as scheduled
Mahendra Singh Dhoni,Suresh Raina,Faf Du Plessis,(inset) Sunil Gavaskar
Dhaka: As India's opener for nearly two decades in the 70s and 80s, Sunil Gavaskar took on some of the finest pace bowlers that cricket has produced. And if the Supreme Court has its way, he could again be padding up, this time in the role of India's cricket chief.
Deccan Chargers RP Singh (left) hugs Rohit Sharma after running out KKR’s Ajit Agarkar during the 2009 IPL in Cape Town, South Africa. Pic/Getty Images
He's the man
Yesterday, the apex court suggested Gavaskar's name for the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) president's post till investigations into the spot fixing and betting episodes, dogging IPL 6 are complete.
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And Gavaskar, who is commentating at the ongoing World T20 here, was surprised at the court's suggestion. "It has come as bolt from the blue for me," the legendary opener told mid-day at 4:50 pm. Gavaskar, also chose to stay guarded even as everyone around him was excited.
He said: "Please don't get carried away. This is not the final decision. It's just a proposal and that's how I am looking at it." So, did he expect such a turn of events on a day when the Supreme Court upped the ante against the current cricketing establishment? "No, not at all," was his short reply.
Meanwhile, no one from the Board had contacted him till about 5:00pm. "No one has spoken to me yet. But I have faced many bowlers in many conditions and I have taken up plenty of challenges. If at all it comes to me, it will be a new challenge."
Gavaskar, nevertheless, is keen on fulfilling his media commitments: "Ideally I would like to continue with my media commitments. I am contracted by BCCI as a commentator. So, if the new responsibility comes to me, I hope they will allow me with the media commitments. I will do anything for BCCI and Indian cricket."
Why stop?
Gavaskar also insisted that the IPL should be held as scheduled. "IPL should continue. Just because a few players are at fault, how can you scrap the entire tournament? There was the match-fixing saga of 1999-2000. At that time, no one demanded cricket to be stopped from taking place. We should sit and discuss the issue carefully," he concluded.
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