Mayor of Louisville, Greg Fischer, who is on a short trip to Mumbai, talks to mid-day about the ground named after Gavaskar in his city and how the batting great is similar to the boxing icon
Louisville's cricket-loving Mayor, Greg Fischer at The Taj yesterday. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar
For long, the city of Louisville in America's Kentucky state has been synonymous with Muhammad Ali. While that will continue to be the case simply because the legendary boxer, nicknamed Louisville Lip, was born there in 1942, another sporting icon is becoming increasingly popular — Sunil Gavaskar — partly due to Louisville Mayor, Greg Fischer.
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Fischer is on a visit to Mumbai as part of the Strong Cities Network of which Louisville is a member. When this newspaper interacted with him at The Taj yesterday, the name Gavaskar was often on his lips and that's because Louisville honoured the Indian cricket great by naming a ground after him.
Sunil Gavaskar poses alongside a Muhammad Ali painting in Louisville last year. Pic/Atul Huckoo
Ground honour for SMG
In October last year, Gavaskar travelled to Louisville for the inauguration of the Sunil M Gavaskar Cricket Field (SMGCF) which came to fruition due to Fischer's backing. However, the mayor revealed that the idea of naming it after Gavaskar came from Indian origin and Louisville-based Jai Bokey, whom he described as a "humble but very smart person."
SMGCF is home now to Louisville Cricket Club which has around 50 cricketers including Indians, Pakistanis, South Africans and from the Caribbean islands, who compete with teams from Ohio and Indiana.
Fischer wanted cricket to be an integral part of his city's sporting landscape. "I asked Jai if he would take up the challenge of building a world-class cricket pitch [facility]. We started in 2012. It was felt Louisville should be the epicentre of cricket in North America and so Jai went about that mission," said Fischer, not forgetting to stress that SMGCF was created through a, "public-private partnership" with everyone – players and entrepreneurs – chipping in. "People were blown away when they heard Gavaskar was coming to Louisville. It was a surreal experience for many. Gavaskar was very impressed [with the ground]. He had a few recommendations, but said we are ready to play," revealed Fischer.
Fischer was surprised that no ground in Mumbai is named after Gavaskar. "That's a tragedy. Then, the folks in Mumbai need to come to Louisville," he said with a chuckle.
While hosting Gavaskar last year was a rewarding experience for Fischer, being involved in the organisation of a memorial service for Ali, who passed away in 2016, was memorable in another way. Around 100,000 people turned up for Ali's funeral procession. "It was a global celebration of his life. It was a real honour to be part of it [memorial service] and to orchestrate that week with Lonnie [Ali's wife] and Ali's family. It was a week that started with sadness and ended with a great feeling of celebration and pride," said Fischer.
Ali's philosophy
Louisville Lip was also a kind man and Fischer remembers Ali saying, "Not everyone can be the greatest athlete, but everyone can be a great humanitarian." Fischer, 60, has been fortunate to see both, Ali and Gavaskar being surrounded by their respective admirers. After yet another unavoidable glance at the Gateway of India, he said: "From a human standpoint, Mr Gavaskar is one of the most beautiful people I've met.
"When he came to Louisville, he gave people time; always had time for one more photograph. The way people crowded around him… to me, he was the Muhammad Ali of cricket.
"We had a big banquet for Gavaskar at the Muhammad Ali Center and to see all that come together in one place made me feel very good about the spirit of our city. It is the home of Ali and a new home for Gavaskar." The importance of cricket development in his city is not lost on Fischer: "I'm hoping to attract more cricketers to Louisville. One of our goals is to have a player of IPL quality someday and when they ask from where he is from, we can say, 'From Louisville, Kentucky — the home of Sunil Gavaskar Field and Muhammad Ali.'"
Also Read: Sunil Gavaskar recalls fan-boy moment in South Africa
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