Sunil Gavaskar completes 50 years in cricket: Ex-India captain's top 4 commentary moments

Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest cricketers of all-time, completed 50 years in cricket on Saturday. The Indian veteran is was the first-ever player to amass 10,000 runs in Test cricket, a milestone that stayed with him for 6 years. Gavaskar has amassed 10,122 runs in his Test career with a then-world record 34 centuries as well.

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After hanging his boots from international cricket, Gavaskar decided to take up the commentator's role in 1990. While the cricketer-turned-commentator was commended for his rock-solid defensive technique against pacers, the former opening batsman has more often than not, been aggressive and candid behind the mic. As Gavaskar completes 50 years in cricket, let's take a look at some of his top commentary moments.

Gavaskar derides Ricky Ponting in 2008 Sydney Test

Gavaskar was on-air alongside Harsha Bhogle during India’s run-chase on Day 5 of the 2008 Sydney Test. A major controversy broke out when batsman Sourav Ganguly nicked the ball to Michael Clarke standing at second slip. While the TV replays displayed inconclusive evidence that the catch was cleanly taken, an unsure Mark Benson asked for clarification from Australian captain Ricky Ponting instead of taking the decision to the third umpire. The Australian skipper raised his finger in response, thus informing the umpire the catch was cleanly taken.

Sunil Gavaskar criticised both Ricky Ponting and Mark Benson for the incident during his commentary duty at the time. The former Indian skipper ridiculed the umpiring decision and lashed out at Ponting for displaying ‘double standards’ throughout the match. He said that umpire Benson should not have taken the word of the Australian captain, who himself was 'not so honest while batting’. Gavaskar was referring to Ricky Ponting’s leg glance which was caught behind by wicketkeeper MS Dhoni in their first innings, with the same umpire turning down the appeal by bowler Sourav Ganguly. The commentator said that if the Australian batsman stood his own ground despite nicking the ball, he had no business doing umpiring work while fielding.

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Gavaskar blasts ICC's hat-trick rule on air

During the first Test of the India vs England 2021 Test series, Gavaskar had slammed ICC over the hat-trick rule. Criticizing the hat-trick rule, Gavaskar said that when a bowler picks up the last two wickets of an innings and comes back to bowl in the next innings and grabs a wicket off the first ball, it is considered as a hat-trick. The Indian veteran bashed the rule when Ishant Sharma was on a hat-trick after he had dismissed Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer on two consecutive balls.

Questioning the same, Gavaskar reckoned that if a batsman scores an unbeaten 78 in the first innings and comes back in the second innings and scores another 22 runs, it isn't considered a century. As a result, the ICC considering a hat-trick when a bowler picks three consecutive wickets across two innings, is a farce. According to Gavaskar, a hat-trick should be considered only if the bowler picks up consecutive wickets of three successive balls of an innings.

Gavaskar's comment on Virat Kohli's wife and Bollywood actor Anushka Sharma

During an IPL 2020 game between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab, RCB skipper Virat Kohli had an unremarkable outing with the bat as he got out after scoring just 1 run off 5 balls. Gavaskar, who was in the commentary box during the game criticised Kohli by making a comment against the Indian team's skipper and his wife Anushka Sharma. While commentating during the match, Gavaskar said that Virat Kohli had only trained against Anushka Sharma's bowling during the lockdown. "Inhone lockdown me sirf Anushka ki bowling ki practice ki hai", Gavaskar quipped on air.

The Sunil Gavaskar comment on Anushka Sharma didn't go down well with fans as they also slammed the veteran for his choice of words. Fans were unamused by Sunil Gavaskar comment on Anushka Sharma as they lambasted the legendary cricketer for his choice of words. In fact, some fans even called the BCCI to fire Sunil Gavaskar from the IPL 2020 commentary team. In fact, Anushka Sharma lashed out at Sunil Gavaskar herself through an Instagram story and that got her support from people on social media. 

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Sunil Gavaskar Chal Phut moment: Legend takes dig at England cricketers, pundits

During the second Test of the India vs England 2021 Test series in Chennai, there was a lot of criticism going around about the pitch. Speaking on the same, the former cricketer questioned England players' skills by saying that India batted on the same pitch and managed to score 329 because England spinners let them score freely and didn't take advantage of the conditions. He further said that Indian spinners, on the other hand, used the pitch to their benefit and bowled England out for 134. Gavaskar reckoned that the scores in of the first innings show how Indian spinners are more skilled than England spinners.

The former cricketer also cited examples of Virat Kohli and R Ashwin who played well and showed everyone how to bat on such tricky surfaces. Gavaskar lauded Kohli and Ashwin's techniques and stated that the two batsmen were batting on the same surface as England did, thus questioning the visitors' skillset. The 71-year-old also took a sly dig at critics who were complaining about the Chennai wicket.

Gavaskar opined that one who wants to play only straight balls without any spin can play at an indoor or on the astroturf cricket pitch where the ball will only come on straight to the bat. As a result, the Sunil Gavaskar Chal Phut moment is perhaps a fitting way to celebrate his 50th cricketing anniversary, as it brought a lot of smiles to fans.

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SOURCE: PTI

VIDEO CREDITS: STAR SPORTS