“Sunil Gavaskar is the best opening batsman that the cricketing world has ever seen,” says Ravi Shastri. He showered all his praises for Little Master on his 64th birthday after he was inducted into the Legends Club as the fourth member, says a report in the DNA.
Shastri recalled how Gavaskar battled against the best bowlers of all times, especially when they were not having the kits with them. He gave a special mention of the fiery West Indian pace battery of the late 1970s and 1980s against whom Gavaskar scored quite a number of runs and also became the first person to reach the mark of 10,000 runs.
"There were no visors, no helmets and you needed rock solid defence to bat for 5-6 hours in a day. He had nerves of steel. His hunger for runs was astounding. He had great competitive instinct and hated to fail," said former Indian Captain.
Shastri was quoted by Times of India saying, "Over the last forty years the three best openers I have seen are Gordon Greenidge (West Indies), Graham Gooch (England) and Matthew Hayden (Australia). But Sunil Gavaskar stands apart. I have not seen a better opening batsman."
Shastri recalled an innings in the third Test of the 1982-83 tour to the Caribbean islands.
"It was in Guyana. He had not got many runs in the first two Tests. He came to my room and called me out to dinner. He wanted to unwind. Two days later I saw batting of the very highest order from him," recalled Shastri.
"He was on 49 when Malcolm Marshall, who was bowling at the speed of light from around the stumps, gave him little room and the ball hit him on the forehead and went 10-15 feet behind the wicket keeper. Gavaskar did not even flinch though the knock was as hard as a walnut.
"No one in the West Indies team even went close to Gavaskar even as Marshall went to the top of the mark. The next ball was driven past the bowler for a four by Gavaskar to reach 53. That was an important moment and sent such a strong message to the opposition. He then ended on 147 not out," said the former India all-rounder.