Sunil Gavaskar would soon be attending Knighthood celebration of Sir Garry Sobers
It would be a gala night with a ‘Knight to Remember’ dinner and the tickets would be priced at 180 dollars. Other than Gavaskar, other icons are the West Indian legends, Wes Hall, Brain Lara and Vivian Richards. Along with them, many can get to see the former Australian captain, Ian Chappell too. All the legendary players will be speaking about the influence of this 73 year old Sobers on the game in this event. The ceremony would be hosted by Tony Cozier, as per a statement issued by the organizers.
Sobers is considered as the best all-rounder in the cricket game. He has scored in his cricket career around 8032 runs and took 235 wickets in the 93 test matches that he had competed in.
Though the cricket world may be impressed by Sachin Tendulkar, this legend rates Gavaskar as the greatest batsman in the world. This is because; he has actually experienced Gavaskar batting and having successive cricket years against some of the fearsome Caribbean pacers of the 1970s.
Sobers said, “It is my personal opinion, and my view that Sunny (as he refers to him) Gavaskar is the greatest batsman ever that I have come across. He has opened innings against some of the genuine fast bowlers with the likes of Michael Holding, Colin Croft, Joel Garner and Andy Roberts. Apart from this, Sunny even scored more runs away from home, in England, West Indies and Australia”.
Gavaskar made his debut in 1971 in the Caribbeans, scoring 774 runs at 154.80 in the series. This made him the subject of a Calypso song. Sobers further added that what he is talking is not to demean other similar cricketers like Vivian Richards, Brain Lara and Sachin Tendulkar. When one is talking about Sachin, he on his side has done what was expected from him. Sobers also felt that it was however wrong to compare the cricketers as each and every cricket legends have his own identity, style of playing and skills. People tend to compare the players, between their past and present players too, and this is not good at all. The condition of playing whilst with the Bradmans and with the Comptons were different.
As per Sobers, there were no restrictions at first on the number of bouncers each over, and the field was set by the players rather than the rules. Previously, bowlers used to bowl at 72 overs in a day and due to this, the batsmen were left with less chances of scoring runs compared to today’s batsmen. Also, there were no arm guards or helmets provided and the wickets too were uncovered. Presently, the case is different. Sobers appreciated Sehwag, as he likes to watch this amazing and dashing opener.