Sunil Gavaskar May Don a Helmet seems crazy right now. But you know West Indies is his happy hunting ground, finally. He has thus put to rest all speculation about his skipping the first Test at Jamaica. “I had intimated to the board officials about my delayed departure almost a month ago. I am 33 years old now, and I have certain business commitments, which at this stage of my career are as important to me as cricket. Consequently, I had to postpone my flight, and I took the permission of the board for it”, said Gavaskar as an explanation for not flying with the team.
There was also some talk of Gavaskar not being too happy playing under Kapil Dev, an insinuation which the former skipper denied: “I am ready to play even under Maninder Singh. Frankly, it is a great honour to play for India, and I do not mind playing under anybody for my country. And personally, I feel that Kapil is a good attacking captain. He has done well in the Duleep Trophy and the one-day Sunil Gavaskar Trophy… not averse to wearing a helmet. The internationals against Sri Lanka”, said the deposed captain.
Asked if he felt that his removal from the captaincy was a bit unfair. Gavaskar replied, “Well, if players can be dropped if they do not fare well, what is so astonishing about a captain being deposed after he has lost a series. The selectors know their job, and I am sure they have done whatever is in the best interests of the team”. Sunil Gavaskar has been under fire recently for a reported dispute with left-arm spinner Dilip Doshi. According to the report, Gavaskar never encouraged Doshi, and the two were not on speaking terms during the latter half of the Pakistan tour. Asked about the reported bad blood between the two senior Indian cricketers, Gavaskar just shrugged his shoulders helplessly.
There is nothing I can do to stop such stories. I can take any criticism for cricketing matters. I can understand when a writer mentions that I did not handle Dilip well or that I did not give him a very attacking field. Those are decisions I have to make on the spur of the moment on the cricket field, and I am open to any criticism on that score. But to say that I told Dilip “Mr. Doshi, you need net practise” or that I am not on speaking terms with him is ridiculous. I spoke to Dilip till the last day of the tour. In fact, he was one of the people I met every evening during the last series, and we sat down and discussed the day’s play practically every day. Let me add one more fact. Dilip is the man who introduced me to my wife, and I am eternally grateful to him for that. I can never think of not speaking to Dilip. At least not from my side
Sunil Gavaskar looked quite indignant over all these rumours flying around. But this is one of the perils one has to face as a losing captain. The next danger, of course, comes from the West Indies pace battery. Sunil Gavaskar, who has yet to wear a helmet, might just opt for one on this tour. It all depends on the circumstances I find there. I have never worn a helmet because I thought it would be too cumbersome. But I am not too averse to wearing it. And I havea strong incentive for donning it too”, said Gavaskar, although declining to explain what ‘strong incentive’ meant.
Well, helmet or not, Gavaskar is off for what could be a crucial series for him. Apart from being the premier batting hope of India, he also has to prove his detractors who have been opining that the master has lost his touch of yore. On the personal front, too, he has a lot to play for. With 7000-odd runs and 26 centuries, he is on the fringe of surpassing the highest Test aggregate and the maximum centuries in Test cricket. A good series in the West Indies would place him right on the threshold of both those records.
SPORTSWEEK, MARCH 2, 1983