Gavaskar: I always wanted to hit a straight six on the first ball of a Test match, like Sehwag
Sunil Gavaskar has heaped praise on Virender Sehwag and said that he too wanted to hit a straight six on the first ball of a Test match, pretty much like Virender Sehwag. He also praised the current Indian team, their attitude, and confidence, and said that they are fulfilling his dreams.
During his playing career, Virender Sehwag’s inimitable talent to send the first ball of the match over the rope was an art that many children of India tried to emulate. Watching him unfurling a Test innings was a joy thanks to the unorthodoxy involved.
In contrast, Sunil Gavaskar, regarded as the greatest-ever opening batsman in Test cricket, was pure class and redefined Test cricket with his flair. It may sound astonishing, but it appears even Gavaskar wanted to hit the first ball of a Test match for a six.
"I always wanted to hit a straight six on the first ball of a Test match. I could do that only once, but Sehwag did that with regularity. He was a class batsman with guts in his batting," said Gavaskar to PTI.
The little-master is of the opinion that although T20 has done wonders in cricket, Test cricket is the ultimate format to judge a player.
"T20 offers action all the way through the match, but Test cricket still I believe is the ultimate form to judge a player. T20 has
"The whole game of cricket has changed for better with whole new dimension added to cricket. Now more runs are being scored and there is action all the time," said Gavaskar.
The Indian cricket team has been enjoying a stellar run-of-form that has seen them defeating Sri Lanka, South Africa, West Indies, New Zealand, England, and Bangladesh in six consecutive Test series. Gavaskar was effluent in his praise for the team.
"I am tremendously happy with the way Virat Kohli's team is performing. This team has the capability to win on any pitch, anywhere. What stands out is the attitude of the team and the fact they have confidence in each other," said Gavaskar.
When asked who India's greatest match-winner ever was, Gavaskar believes that it was 1983 World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev with his supreme ability to win matches both with the bat and ball.
"Kapil Dev was India's greatest match-winner because he won India matches both with the bat and all. Kapil, by sheer example, led others by the way he played and the flair he brought into the game; he showed other Indian fast bowlers the way ahead," Gavaskar told NDTV in Pune on Wednesday during SporTale, India's first sports lit fest.
"All the bowlers who came after him, whether it was Chetan Sharma or Javagal Srinath, it was only because Kapil showed the way. It was because of him that we showed that we too could have fast bowlers because prior to him we never really had a tradition of good fast bowlers. So thanks to him we have developed this pool of fast bowlers today."