Sunil Gavaskar lashing out at players opting for rest while on India duty has merit and it comes from a man who played 106 consecutive Tests at one point of time
Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar. Pic/Bipin Kokate
The struggling Virat Kohli along with Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik will not be part of the ODI squad for a three-match series in the Caribbean later this month.
In light of this, batting legend Sunil Gavaskar expressed his displeasure over players being rested for India duty while there is no question of them asking for a break when they play the Indian Premier League for their respective franchises.
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“See, I do not agree with this concept of players resting. Not at all. You don’t take rest during IPL, then why ask for it while playing for India? I don’t agree with it. You will have to play for India. Don’t talk about rest,” Gavaskar said on Sports Tak.
Point made. It must be remembered that Gavaskar played in an era where players taking a break from the game was unheard of. Well almost, because you had a few players like England’s Geoff Boycott, who didn’t play for his country from 1974 to 1977, and Australian great Greg Chappell, who skipped the 1981 Ashes in England.
Gavaskar himself was an enduring champion, who missed only four Tests in his 125-Test career—three against the West Indies in 1974-75 due to a finger injury suffered during a Ranji Trophy match for Mumbai and one against Pakistan in 1986-87. He decided not to play the second Test of that series in Kolkata for “personal reasons” while media reports suggested that it could have been because he felt ill-treated by fans at the Eden Gardens previously. The decision not to play the Test against Pakistan marked the end of Gavaskar’s record run of 106 consecutive Tests. His fellow batting titan and brother-in-law Gundappa Viswanath figured in 86 Tests on the bounce (Georgetown 1971 to Karachi 1983).
In a tribute for Sportsweek magazine (March 11-17, 1986), former national selector and Team India manager (positions he held before going on to become chairman of selectors and BCCI president) late Raj Singh Dungarpur touched upon his continuous pursuit which made Gavaskar so great: “Sunil Gavaskar has never missed a series, never chose his opponents as did his nearest contemporary rival, Geoff Boycott. He also carried the mantle of being the best batsman in the side and I am sure, as was the case with Sir Len [Hutton], the bowlers got an extra yard of pace because seeing the back of such a great batsman was always the objective of the bowler concerned.”
Boycott, who is mentioned by Raj Singh above, played his last pre-break Test against India at Old Trafford in 1974.
“When I took stock of my situation I realised, to my horror, that the drive and desire to play for England had gone. There was no satisfaction in it, very little involvement, even less pleasure—and despite what anybody may say, they have always been very important sources of my motivation,” wrote Boycott in The Autobiography.
Boycott missed 30 Tests before his comeback Test at Trent Bridge against Greg Chappell’s Australians in 1977. Talking about Chappell, a good part of his team may have been distracted by what they were soon to be part of—Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket—but did he visualise not being part of another Ashes series in England? Probably not.
Chappell made himself unavailable for the 1981 Ashes which came after a turbulent 1980-81 Australian summer. It was this very season in which he ordered brother Trevor to bowl an underarm delivery that would prevent New Zealand from earning a tied result in the triangular series match. As expected, Chappell was slammed from all quarters, including by brother Ian.
He was exasperated by the poor-quality Melbourne Cricket Ground pitches and India won the last Test of the series for the three-match series to end 1-1. “The events of February 1981 [underarm controversy] didn’t bring me to the decision [making himself unavailable for the 1981 England tour], but they did cement it in my mind,” Chappell wrote in Fierce Focus. At the heart of Chappell’s reasons for not touring was the need to spend time with his young family.
The need to be with the family cannot be a reason for the current stars deciding to pick and choose tours because the Board generally permits players to travel with their families. And while we cringe when we read about players opting for a rest when it comes to India duty and are up and ready for IPL games, it shouldn’t be forgotten that:
1. The IPL is a BCCI-organised tournament that the Board and its supporters take a lot of pride in.
2. Several series are held to fill the coffers of the Board/other boards and to align with commitments made to the official broadcasters.
Meanwhile, some cases of ‘rest’ will be a euphemism for being ‘dropped’ and inadequate information in BCCI press releases will continue to give one the impression that Indian cricket is one big mystery train.
mid-day’s group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stance.
He tweets @ClaytonMurzello. Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com
The views expressed in this column are the individual’s and don’t represent those of the paper.
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