Sunil Gavaskar one of the worst players when it comes to batting in the nets, claims Kiran More
Legendary Indian wicket-keeper Kiran More expressed his astonishment over Sunil Gavaskar’s diverse nature and revealed how the latter would bat horrendously in the nets but then would smash it on the day of the match. More claimed that no one could touch Gavaskar when he was in ‘the zone’.
Long before the emergence of both Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, the entirety of India unanimously looked up to one charismatic superstar and his name was Sunil Manohar Gavaskar. Nicknamed the ‘Little Master’, Gavaskar broke every possible record in the book after making his debut at the age of 22 and became the first batsman to score over 10,000 runs in Test cricket. The now 70-year-old was famously known for his courage and his tendency to never back down and the right-hander finally called it a day in 1987, after scoring over 13,000 international runs.
However, while Gavaskar is known to the fans as an orthodox batsman with a flawless technique, according to former Indian wicket-keeper Kiran More, there was little evidence that suggested the same whenever Gavaskar batted in the nets. More claimed that the Little Master was one of the worst batsmen he’d ever seen when it came to batting in the nets, but also revealed that he would often be left baffled by how well ‘Sunny G’ would turn things around and slay the opponents when it came to an actual match.
“He was one of the worst players I’ve ever seen in the nets. He used to never like practising in the nets. When you see him practice in the nets and he’s going to play in a Test match tomorrow, and when he goes and bats in a Test match it’s 99.9 per cent different,” More said on The Greatest Rivalry podcast, reported Hindustan Times.
“When you see him bat in the nets it’s like ‘How is he going to score runs?’ And then when you see him next day morning it’s like ‘Wow’.”
Gavaskar also became the first batsman in Test history to score over 30 hundreds and at one point, he simultaneously held the record for both the most hundreds and most runs in Test cricket. During his playing days, batting without a helmet, the Little Master ravaged some of the greatest bowlers to have ever graced the sport, including the Windies pace quartet of the 70s, and according to More, it was Gavaskar’s god-given concentration power that enabled him to do so. More attested that Gavaskar was untouchable when he was in ‘the zone’.
“The best God-given gift given to Sunil Gavaskar is his concentration. The level of concentration he had was unbelievable. Once he would get into his zone, nobody could get close to him or he would not listen to you. If you’re talking next to him or dancing next to him, he’ll be in his zone and he’ll be focussing on his cricket.”