When Sunil Gavaskar was introduced as the player dropped by Garfield Sobers ‘three-four times’
Gavaskar says at the ripe young age of 75, he needs to be introduced to the gathering as he quit the game 40 years ago.
Former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar remembered an incident from his debut series against West Indies in 1971, when batting legend Rohan Kanhai whispered a few words to him.
Gavaskar recalled that he was nearing a hundred when he played a loose stroke and that is when Kanhai walked up to him. However, instead of sledging or swearing at him, as is seen in the modern-day game, Kanhai encouraged him to go out there and score a hundred. Gavaskar describes this anecdote as ‘unbelievable.’
“In my debut series, if I played a bad shot when crossing over me to go to the slips for the next over, if he was not within earshot of the wicketkeeper, he would whisper in my ear: ‘Concentrate! Don’t you want a 100? What’s the matter with you? He’s in the opposition, he’s not swearing at me, he actually wants me to get a 100. Unbelievable!” Gavaskar told Gaurav Kapur on his show 22 yarns.
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The legendary Indian batsman famously scored three centuries as well as a double hundred in his first-ever series for the Indian team. The Mumbai batting legend went to become great pals with Rohan Kanhai and even named his son Rohan inspired by him.
“Apart from his batsmanship, (why I respected Rohan Kanhai so much was because of) how he secretly encouraged me. There’s always been this issue between African-origin people and Indian-origin people in Trinidad, Guyana. Off the field, he (Kanhai) was one of the nicest guys I ever met. Naming my son after him was a no-brainer,” Gavaskar added.
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