Sunil Gavaskar: The Pioneer of Indian Cricket

The iconic Border Gavaskar Trophy is named after the two legends- Allan Border and Sunil Gavaskar, the legends of the game from both the nations. The stature of these two OG players is immense as they both have achieved significant milestones for their countries. Border was a left handed batter who led his team to victory in 1987 Cricket World Cup and Gavaskar was a right batter who won plenty of matches for India with his splendid shots. 

Today, in this article by ZAP cricket, we will discuss the career trajectory of one of these two legends, who was also the backbone of India’s batting line up in the 80s, Sunil Gavaskar, fondly known as Sunny. He was a right hand opening batsman, who represented India in 125 Tests and 108 ODIs and even led the side for a brief period of time.

Early life and domestic cricket of Sunil Gavaskar 

Born on10 July, 1949, Gavaskar attended St Xavier’s High School. He started gaining fame at an early age as he scored plenty of runs in school level cricket. He was named as ‘India’s Best Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year’ as his score included 246*, 222, 85 etc. 

His uncle, Madhav Mantri, was a former Test player and that helped Gavaskar as it provided him the right guidance and exposure at an early age. Later, in 1968-69, he made Ranji Trophy debut and after that he never looked back. 

International career of Sunil Gavaskar 

Gavaskar made his Test debut on 6 March, 1971 vs West Indies and ODI debut on 13 July, 1974 vs England. He captained India in 47 matches, registered 9 victories and lost 8 matches with 30 draws. 

He was the first Test player to score 10,000+ runs, with the highest number of Test centuries. This record was later surpassed by Sachin Tendulkar. He also holds the record of scoring highest runs in a series as a debutant (774). 

Gavaskar was admired for his technique against pacers. He used to provide stability from one end. Unlike the present day explosive style of playing, he used to take his time and play each and every shot very calculatively. His batting average in Test cricket is 51.12, which itself is a testament of his class. Apart from his batting contributions, he was a very good fielder too. In fact, he was the first Indian fielder to take 100 catches in Test cricket.  

He retired after the 1987 Cricket World Cup. He played his last Test on 13 March, 1987 vs Pakistan and last ODI on 5 November, 1987 vs England.  

International stats of Sunil Gavaskar 

Awards and achievements of Sunil Gavaskar 

• In 1975, Gavaskar was awarded with Arjuna Award 
• In 1980, Gavaskar was felicitated with Padma Bhushan 
• He was named as Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1980
• Won 1983 ICC Cricket World Cup 
• Won 1984 Asia Cup as captain 
• 1996, the prestigious Border Gavaskar Trophy was named after him
• His name was inducted in ICC Hall of Fame in 2009
• In 2012, he was bestowed with C.K Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award by BCCI

Life beyond cricket 

Gavaskar wrote his Autobiography: The Sunil Gavaskar Omnibus, which had The Sunny Days, Idols and One Day Wonders. He wrote plenty of books, largely based on cricket. Also, In 2014, Supreme Court of India appointed Gavaskar as the interim President of BCCI. Presently, he is a prominent commentator, often known for his cryptic comments against players, which tend to create tension.