How good was Sunil Gavaskar?

[MenInG]

Their on-field banter, sometimes playful and at other times bitter, was a part of India-Pakistan cricketing folklore but when it came to respect, Javed Miandad always had the highest regards for Sunil Gavaskar's unflappable temperament and near-perfect technique against fastest bowlers of his time.

Miandad feels that current players should watch video clips of Gavaskar's batting to know how he tackled some of the world's most fearsome fast bowlers like Michael Holding, Andy Roberts, Malcolm Marshall, Imran Khan, Richard Hadlee, Dennis Lillee among others.

"It was amazing that given his short height, how well he played all over the world. His consistency and performances are remarkable," Miandad said in a video released by the Pakistan Cricket Board.

Miandad believes that Gavaskar's immaculate defence and balance while standing at barely 5 feet 5 inches against hefty fast bowlers are lessons that can be learnt.

"Players nowadays can learn so much from watching his videos. See how he coped with the fast bowlers despite his short height. He played in an era where he faced the most fearsome pace bowlers in the West Indies, England, Australia, New Zealand and even against Pakistan and yet he was successful." Miandad, who played 124 Tests and remained Pakistan's top run-getter before Younis Khan overtook him, also talked about the camaraderie he shared with the former India skipper.

"I enjoyed watching him bat. I remember I used to field close to him and keep chattering away to distract him as his level of concentration and focus was so high," he said.

"There were times when I managed to disturb his focus and when he got out he always used to leave cursing me and I enjoyed it." Miandad said India was fortunate to have Gavaskar and his brother in law, Gundappa Vishwanath play in the same era.

"Vishwanath was another top player but Gavaskar was exceptional." Miandad, who was coach of the national team thrice, said he always enjoyed watching Gavaskar bat and had some famous duels with him on the field.

https://sports.ndtv.com/cricket/jav...-from-watching-sunil-gavaskars-videos-3017351

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Sunny is arguably the most respected Indian player in Pakistan.

Most Pakistanis who have seen both play, rate him above Tendulkar.

He was before my time but when I see the respect he gets from legends like Imran and Miandad then it shows what a competitor he must have been on the field.

 

[CrIc_Mystique]

Steel trap concentration, Water tight defense. And yeah he could play every shot in the book.

A pity he played in a team of him + 10 others and him and Kapil + 9 others since 1978.

He would go in to bat on green uncovered wickets knowing he is going to be bounced, simply because we didnt have anyone to bounce their batsmen. or he'd be going in to bat after tea on the 2n day, totally drained out because we wernt good enought to take 10 wickets.
His straight driving was as good as any one else, his leg glance and cover driving was a thing of precision.
Anyone who saw his 100 at delhi against marshall, holding, daniel etc - that was masterclass. The double at oval was a masterclass. But he himslef rated an innings in 1974 agains eng on some wickets which were mainly part of the outfield as his best efforts. My uncle saw him against Jeff thommson in 1977-78 and said he had so much time to play him.
For a short man he stood tall. both figuratively and in attitude.India was never defeated till he was at the wicket.
he was quick witted and has an impish sense of humour which he brings in his commentary.
the word legend is thrown around so easily. He is easily one a legend. Richie Benaud named him as one of the top 10 of the millenuim and said he would open in an all time world XI. enough said.

 

[TheSultan]

He’s easily India’s greatest ever batsman. He faced bigger and sterner challenges than any of his countrymen.

To open his whole career against the monstrous bowling of the 70s and 80s - no other Indian wannabe can compare to that.

 

[Junaids]

Per Wasim Akram, Sunny ranks higher than Sachin. Only if his only countrymen got behind him like they did with the curly hair shot guy.

Waz knows because of that astonishing Gavaskar innings in his final Test innings.

Fifth India v Pakistan Test, Bangalore, March 1987.

Pakistan 116 all out
India 145 all out
Pakistan 249 all out.

India needed 220 to win the match and the series.

Gavaskar scored a masterly 96 - nobody else scored even 30, in a line-up containing Azharuddin, Shastri, Vengsarkar, Amarnath and Kapil Dev.

India lost by 16 runs that day, to lose the home series 1-0.

But Gavaskar played the greatest Test innings ever played by an Asian batsman.

Wasim Akram is right.

 

[topspin]

Gavaskar may have been a superior red ball batsman but he was so bad in white ball cricket, overall Tendulkar has a greater legacy and is India's best ever batsman.

 

[jeetu]

Its misnomer that Gavaskar was terrible ODI batsman. Most of the bad rep is based on just one ODI performance 36*(174). What most people didn't realize that it was only his third ODI and India was new to that format. He got better in ODI's with time.
As a ODI opener he wasn't great but had good stats for that time.
Stats of ODI openers till end of 1987 (when he retired)
[table=class: grid, align: center]
[tr][td]Player [/td][td]Mat [/td][td]Runs [/td][td]Ave [/td][td]SR [/td][td]100 [/td][td]50 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]GA Gooch (ENG) [/td][td]44 [/td][td]2155 [/td][td]51.3 [/td][td]70.4 [/td][td]6 [/td][td]13 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]GM Turner (NZ) [/td][td]30 [/td][td]1197 [/td][td]49.87 [/td][td]68.59 [/td][td]3 [/td][td]7 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]CG Greenidge (WI) [/td][td]87 [/td][td]3667 [/td][td]45.83 [/td][td]65.08 [/td][td]9 [/td][td]22 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]DL Haynes (WI) [/td][td]130 [/td][td]4585 [/td][td]40.57 [/td][td]61.09 [/td][td]9 [/td][td]28 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]BC Broad (ENG) [/td][td]26 [/td][td]1047 [/td][td]40.26 [/td][td]55.01 [/td][td]0 [/td][td]10 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]DC Boon (AUS) [/td][td]34 [/td][td]1291 [/td][td]39.12 [/td][td]69.44 [/td][td]1 [/td][td]10 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]KC Wessels (AUS) [/td][td]41 [/td][td]1491 [/td][td]38.23 [/td][td]58.12 [/td][td]1 [/td][td]13 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]GR Marsh (AUS) [/td][td]45 [/td][td]1607 [/td][td]36.52 [/td][td]59.65 [/td][td]4 [/td][td]5 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]G Boycott (ENG) [/td][td]35 [/td][td]1082 [/td][td]36.06 [/td][td]53.56 [/td][td]1 [/td][td]9 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]SM Gavaskar (INDIA) [/td][td]83 [/td][td]2651 [/td][td]35.34 [/td][td]61.5 [/td][td]1 [/td][td]25 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]GM Wood (AUS) [/td][td]70 [/td][td]2017 [/td][td]33.61 [/td][td]59.08 [/td][td]3 [/td][td]10 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]BA Edgar (NZ) [/td][td]62 [/td][td]1781 [/td][td]31.24 [/td][td]49.66 [/td][td]1 [/td][td]10 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]K Srikkanth (INDIA) [/td][td]87 [/td][td]2464 [/td][td]28.98 [/td][td]74.82 [/td][td]2 [/td][td]17 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Mudassar Nazar (PAK) [/td][td]81 [/td][td]2238 [/td][td]28.69 [/td][td]52.07 [/td][td]0 [/td][td]14 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Mohsin Khan (PAK) [/td][td]69 [/td][td]1742 [/td][td]26.8 [/td][td]56.44 [/td][td]2 [/td][td]7 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]JG Wright (NZ) [/td][td]82 [/td][td]2070 [/td][td]25.87 [/td][td]52.9 [/td][td]0 [/td][td]12 [/td][/tr]
[/table]

 

[TheSultan]

Gavaskar may have been a superior red ball batsman but he was so bad in white ball cricket, overall Tendulkar has a greater legacy and is India's best ever batsman.

ODIs we’re brand new when gavaskar made his infamous 36* - a lot of batsmen didn’t know how to approach it and some even ridiculed it - much like t20 in the mid to late 2000s.

You can’t compare a 70s/80s ODI player to a 90s or beyond one.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

For an opener to end up with a career average of 50+ with 100+ test is an enormous achievement itself.
There are a lot of middle order batters with 50+ batting avg but only a handful of openers to do that.

 

[ElRaja]

ppl should watch the miandad interview, perfect insight as to why he was so successful, he can't hide the glee on his face recalling moments he was annoying sunny, its obvious he absolutely loved the competition and the gamesmanship, a lot of modern Pakistani cricketers are way too timid and lack that kinda light-hearted gamesmanship.

 

[topspin]

ODIs we’re brand new when gavaskar made his infamous 36* - a lot of batsmen didn’t know how to approach it and some even ridiculed it - much like t20 in the mid to late 2000s.

You can’t compare a 70s/80s ODI player to a 90s or beyond one.

He played enough white ball cricket and he was really bad. Sir Viv played in the same era and excelled because overall he was a superior batsman.

 

[Junaids]

Gavaskar may have been a superior red ball batsman but he was so bad in white ball cricket, overall Tendulkar has a greater legacy and is India's best ever batsman.

He didn't play any white ball cricket.

He played red ball ODIs, in which there was a Lunch break and a Tea break, and a strike rate of 60 was excellent.

Three of his four World Cups were 60 overs per side.

That means 12 overs each from Holding / Roberts / Garner / Croft, with 2 or 3 slips in place.

It was as difficult as Test cricket - you couldn't play modern high bat-speed ODI shots.

 

[topspin]

He didn't play any white ball cricket.

He played red ball ODIs, in which there was a Lunch break and a Tea break, and a strike rate of 60 was excellent.

Three of his four World Cups were 60 overs per side.

That means 12 overs each from Holding / Roberts / Garner / Croft, with 2 or 3 slips in place.

It was as difficult as Test cricket - you couldn't play modern high bat-speed ODI shots.

White ball or red ball, his limited overs record was poor compared to the likes of Sir Viv, Tendulkar, Ponting and Kohli.

 

[TheSultan]

He played enough white ball cricket and he was really bad. Sir Viv played in the same era and excelled because overall he was a superior batsman.

Viv was out all on his own in limited overs cricket in that era.

And we’re not comparing to Viv any case.

He’s still the greatest Indian batsman ever. I know this probably hurts the feelings of Tendulkar fans, but live with it.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

 

[Hitman]

Viv was out all on his own in limited overs cricket in that era.

And we’re not comparing to Viv any case.

He’s still the greatest Indian batsman ever. I know this probably hurts the feelings of Tendulkar fans, but live with it.

Why? Because you think so? In that case why did Tendulkar make it to cricket bible WISDEN’s All Time XI, why not him? How about the numerous list of greatest cricketers and All Time XI compiled by former greats and cricket pundits? Why does Tendulkar make it to 99% of them, why not him?

I know it hurts you really bad to see his name everytime a new list is made by highly qualified people, but learn to live with it.

 

[TheSultan]

Why? Because you think so? In that case why did Tendulkar make it to cricket bible WISDEN’s All Time XI, why not him? How about the numerous list of greatest cricketers and All Time XI compiled by former greats and cricket pundits? Why does Tendulkar make it to 99% of them, why not him?

I know it hurts you really bad to see his name everytime a new list is made by highly qualified people, but learn to live with it.

Wisden’s list is not the be all and end all - and ex players are all very polite and say things to please everyone. Some of them flip flop.

I don’t know why you’re so offended - gavaskar is an Indian.

Tendulkar was just good for stats and even then he didn’t have the best average in his era. India have a lot of genuine heroes - gavaskar, kapil paaji, Dhoni, Dravid, Laxman, Kohli who have achieved greater things - even ganguly has achieved more than SRT.

Why so offended young Brett?

 

[Hitman]

Wisden’s list is not the be all and end all - and ex players are all very polite and say things to please everyone. Some of them flip flop.

I don’t know why you’re so offended - gavaskar is an Indian.

Tendulkar was just good for stats and even then he didn’t have the best average in his era. India have a lot of genuine heroes - gavaskar, kapil paaji, Dhoni, Dravid, Laxman, Kohli who have achieved greater things - even ganguly has achieved more than SRT.

Why so offended young Brett?

I’m not offended at all. Sunny is a hero of mine. It’s just so sad that the player you abhor the most is so highly rated by the cricketing fraternity, makes it to 99% of all World XI, and gets a place in the top 10 of every list of greatest cricketers prepared by former greats and cricket pundits.

While the player you idolize couldn’t even make it to Cricinfo’s World XI of his own time.

While you may think Gavaskar, Kapil, Shoni, Dravid, Laxman and Kohli achieved greater things. If it were true, the cricketing fraternity would have acknowledged it. They don’t, because they are not haters and they are not insane.

I need not be salty because I have the entire cricketing fraternity agreeing with me. While you don’t even have most rational and unbiased Pakistanis agreeing with you.

 

[TheSultan]

I’m not offended at all. Sunny is a hero of mine. It’s just so sad that the player you abhor the most is so highly rated by the cricketing fraternity, makes it to 99% of all World XI, and gets a place in the top 10 of every list of greatest cricketers prepared by former greats and cricket pundits.

While the player you idolize couldn’t even make it to Cricinfo’s World XI of his own time.

While you may think Gavaskar, Kapil, Shoni, Dravid, Laxman and Kohli achieved greater things. If it were true, the cricketing fraternity would have acknowledged it. They don’t, because they are not haters and they are not insane.

I need not be salty because I have the entire cricketing fraternity agreeing with me. While you don’t even have most rational and unbiased Pakistanis agreeing with you.

Your opinion is hero worship - nothing more young one.

Gavaskar I’ve already covered above

Dhoni captained india to a World Cup, t20 World Cup win, won countless matches from impossible situations

Dravid and Laxman drove Australia in to the ground - the effects of which are still affecting Australia psychologically vs India. For good measure they did it again 3 years later. People can’t quantify the impact those innings had.

Kapil - captained India to their first World Cup and was a lone warrior in a disgusting era of Indian seam up bowling. One of the four great allrounders to boot.

Ganguly built a great team that brought india out from the depth of despair to a team who truly competed on the international stage.

These are fantastic achievements by real Indian cricketing heroes. Tendulkar was just a run machine and even then he doesn’t stand tall above all others in his era. The hundred 100s is a gimmick. His average is not the best in his era.

I don’t understand why Indian fans are fixated on him and undervalue some great achievements by other Indians.

It’s hero worship nothing else.

 

[Hitman]

Your opinion is hero worship - nothing more young one.

Gavaskar I’ve already covered above

Dhoni captained india to a World Cup, t20 World Cup win, won countless matches from impossible situations

Dravid and Laxman drove Australia in to the ground - the effects of which are still affecting Australia psychologically vs India. For good measure they did it again 3 years later. People can’t quantify the impact those innings had.

Kapil - captained India to their first World Cup and was a lone warrior in a disgusting era of Indian seam up bowling. One of the four great allrounders to boot.

Ganguly built a great team that brought india out from the depth of despair to a team who truly competed on the international stage.

These are fantastic achievements by real Indian cricketing heroes. Tendulkar was just a run machine and even then he doesn’t stand tall above all others in his era. The hundred 100s is a gimmick. His average is not the best in his era.

I don’t understand why Indian fans are fixated on him and undervalue some great achievements by other Indians.

It’s hero worship nothing else.

It’s not hero worship. It’s treating people according to their worth. If what you say is true, the cricketing fraternity would have put those players you mentioned on a bigger pedestal. Why they don’t? Don’t tell me the entire cricketing fraternity hero worships him. Why did David Gower rate him the third greatest cricketer of all time in his list of 50 greatest players? Was he a hero worshipper as well? Why did Bradman get amazed by him and didn’t miss a single innings of him in the last 5 years of his life? Was that hero worship as well? Why did cricket bible rate him the second greatest Test snd ODI batsman of all time in 2002, when he had no records in his kitty? Was it hero worship as well? Why did Viv Richards said that he is the gold standard of batting, and that if there is a better batsman than him, then he hasn’t arrived yet? Is it hero worshipping as well? Why did Richie Benaud rate him the best batsman he has seen since Bradman’s retirement? Is it hero wordhipping as well?

If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, wuacks like a duck, it is indeed a duck.

All those legends I mentioned above are non Indians. So you accuse them of hero eorshipping as well?

Face it, your hero made it brlow Brett Lee in the list of the greatest bowler of all time, Shane Warne. While the guy you abhor the most made it at the top.

I know it hurts you, but you can’t change reality.

 

[Hitman]

It’s not hero worship. It’s treating people according to their worth. If what you say is true, the cricketing fraternity would have put those players you mentioned on a bigger pedestal. Why they don’t? Don’t tell me the entire cricketing fraternity hero worships him. Why did David Gower rate him the third greatest cricketer of all time in his list of 50 greatest players? Was he a hero worshipper as well? Why did Bradman get amazed by him and didn’t miss a single innings of him in the last 5 years of his life? Was that hero worship as well? Why did cricket bible rate him the second greatest Test snd ODI batsman of all time in 2002, when he had no records in his kitty? Was it hero worship as well? Why did Viv Richards said that he is the gold standard of batting, and that if there is a better batsman than him, then he hasn’t arrived yet? Is it hero worshipping as well? Why did Richie Benaud rate him the best batsman he has seen since Bradman’s retirement? Is it hero wordhipping as well?

If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, wuacks like a duck, it is indeed a duck.

All those legends I mentioned above are non Indians. So you accuse them of hero eorshipping as well?

Face it, your hero made it brlow Brett Lee in the list of the greatest bowler of all time, Shane Warne. While the guy you abhor the most made it at the top.

I know it hurts you, but you can’t change reality.

* Face it, your hero made it below Brett Lee in the list of the 100 greatest cricketers of all time, prepared by the greatest bowler of all time Shane Warne. While the guy you abhor the most made it at the top.

 

[TheSultan]

It’s not hero worship. It’s treating people according to their worth. If what you say is true, the cricketing fraternity would have put those players you mentioned on a bigger pedestal. Why they don’t? Don’t tell me the entire cricketing fraternity hero worships him. Why did David Gower rate him the third greatest cricketer of all time in his list of 50 greatest players? Was he a hero worshipper as well? Why did Bradman get amazed by him and didn’t miss a single innings of him in the last 5 years of his life? Was that hero worship as well? Why did cricket bible rate him the second greatest Test snd ODI batsman of all time in 2002, when he had no records in his kitty? Was it hero worship as well? Why did Viv Richards said that he is the gold standard of batting, and that if there is a better batsman than him, then he hasn’t arrived yet? Is it hero worshipping as well? Why did Richie Benaud rate him the best batsman he has seen since Bradman’s retirement? Is it hero wordhipping as well?

If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, wuacks like a duck, it is indeed a duck.

All those legends I mentioned above are non Indians. So you accuse them of hero eorshipping as well?

Face it, your hero made it brlow Brett Lee in the list of the greatest bowler of all time, Shane Warne. While the guy you abhor the most made it at the top.

I know it hurts you, but you can’t change reality.

As I said - cricketers are polite they say a lot of things. Gower’s list was very contentious - at the end of the day it’s all opinions.

Gary sobers said gavaskar was the greatest. Ponting said Lara is better than Tendulkar.

No need to be selective little one. We can all dig up different opinions.

I don’t care where my heroes end up in overall standings. They are my heroes because I loved watching them play - that no one can take from anyone - I’m not invested in their ATG status because that is always based on opinions. I myself would say they weren’t the greatest anyway.

 

[Hitman]

As I said - cricketers are polite they say a lot of things. Gower’s list was very contentious - at the end of the day it’s all opinions.

Gary sobers said gavaskar was the greatest. Ponting said Lara is better than Tendulkar.

No need to be selective little one. We can all dig up different opinions.

I don’t care where my heroes end up in overall standings. They are my heroes because I loved watching them play - that no one can take from anyone - I’m not invested in their ATG status because that is always based on opinions. I myself would say they weren’t the greatest anyway.

LOL, so what you mean to say is we should all ignore the opinions of the entire cricketing fraternity because they are opinions. While what you say is a fact derived straight from an equation of physics?

Now tell me, whose opinion counts more - former greats of the game who played at the highest level, or the opinion of no named nobodies like yourself and me?

Cricinfo didn’t even include your hero in their World XI of his own time. The greatest bowler of all time, Shane Warne rated your hero below Brett Lee. David Gower, whom you rate so highly, didn’t even put your hero in his list of 50 greatest cricketers, while the one who abhor the most made it at #3 in his list.

Look, you can flatter yourself all you want by trying to bellitle a certain player all you want. But remember this, my hero is acknowledged by the entire cricketing fraternity for his greatness (want more example for such lists?), while your hero wasn’t good enough to make it to Cricinfo’s World XI of his own time.

 

[TheSultan]

LOL, so what you mean to say is we should all ignore the opinions of the entire cricketing fraternity because they are opinions. While what you say is a fact derived straight from an equation of physics?

Now tell me, whose opinion counts more - former greats of the game who played at the highest level, or the opinion of no named nobodies like yourself and me?

Cricinfo didn’t even include your hero in their World XI of his own time. The greatest bowler of all time, Shane Warne rated your hero below Brett Lee. David Gower, whom you rate so highly, didn’t even put your hero in his list of 50 greatest cricketers, while the one who abhor the most made it at #3 in his list.

Look, you can flatter yourself all you want by trying to bellitle a certain player all you want. But remember this, my hero is acknowledged by the entire cricketing fraternity for his greatness (want more example for such lists?), while your hero wasn’t good enough to make it to Cricinfo’s World XI of his own time.

And Gary Sobers is not a great?

Ricky Ponting is not a great?

Every great has an opinion son. Measuring greatness is not an exact science. Must also say India’s financial clout has also muddied the waters a bit.

My point is your “entire cricketing fraternity” isn’t exactly “entirely” of the opinion about SRT.

Why are you so concerned about my heroes. I’m not. Enough of this whataboutism and address the subject at hand or jog on.

 

[Hitman]

And Gary Sobers is not a great?

Ricky Ponting is not a great?

Every great has an opinion son. Measuring greatness is not an exact science. Must also say India’s financial clout has also muddied the waters a bit.

My point is your “entire cricketing fraternity” isn’t exactly “entirely” of the opinion about SRT.

Why are you so concerned about my heroes. I’m not. Enough of this whataboutism and address the subject at hand or jog on.

Like a wise man once said, ad hominem is the last option for a person losing an argument. You’re welcome.

Sobers and Ponting are greats, but they don’t share your opinion that certain random X, Y, or Z have achieved greater things. Sobers rated my hero Sunny as the greatest batsman ever, while Ponting rated Lara ahead of Tendulkar. When I spoke of the entire cricketing fraternity agreeing with me, it was about how highly he is rated, not that he is rated by everyone above a few other legends like Viv or Lara.

India’s financial clout has muddied the waters a bit? That’s the only line of argument left for fans like you. Afterall, you don’t have any other arguments left. What financial clout did India have in the 90’s when he was being compared with the Don?

I’m not at all concerned about your heros. I’m just showing you the mirror on how ‘highly’ your biggest hero is rated by the rest of the cricketing world, when you have the nerve to speak about a certain Indian player you abhor the most

 

[James]

Polite reminder to afford cricketers the proper nominative respect in this thread, thanks.

 

[Joseph Gomes]

Greatest test opener of all time. Dominated the greatest bowling lineup in history (WI in 1970s and 1980s) for nearly two decades, both home and away. First batsman to score 10k test runs, first batsman to score more than 30 test centuries. For me, Gavaskar is better than Tendulkar in tests, given Gavaskar's achievements as an opener.

These were the WI bowlers Gavaskar faced during his career

Joel Garner - 259 wkts at 20.97
Michael Holding - 249 wkts at 23.68
Malcolm Marshall - 240 wkts at 21.64
Andy Roberts - 202 wkts at 25.61
Colin Croft - 125 wkts at 23.30

Imagine facing all these bowlers hunting as a pack in the same team, for 16 years straight

Some other bowlers Gavaskar faced in his career

Richard Hadlee - 351 wkts at 22.43 (Gavaskar avg vs NZ - 43.40)
Dennis Lillee - 347 wkts at 23.90 (Gavaskar avg vs Aus - 51.66)
Bob Willis - 311 wkts at 25.05 (Gavaskar avg vs Eng - 38.20)
Imran Khan - 290 wkts at 22.23 (Gavaskar avg vs Pak - 56.45)

Other notable bowlers with great home average (but not listed above)

Ian Botham - 212 wkts at 25.39
Jeff Thomson - 129 wkts at 24.98
Abdul Qadir - 115 wkts at 27.12
Rodney Hogg - 98 wkts at 24.30

Fun fact, Gavaskar's away average was higher than home average. His era was notorious for biased umpires for the home team. Gavaskar was an away bully in an era of biased umpiring.

Example of away bullying - Gavaskar averaged 41.14 in England against prime Botham and Willis, as compared to 38.20 overall

More away bullying example

Avg in NZ - 43.55
Avg in Aus - 51.11
Avg in Pak - 58.88
And finally, Avg in WI - 70.20

Imagine consistently bullying the greatest bowling line up, away from home, for 16 years. That's Sunil Gavaskar for you

(In before anybody thinks Gavaskar was poor at home, his home average is 50.16)

 

[Manunited18]

According to my late father, Gavaskar was the best opening bat hes ever seen

 

[Birdman]

Wow Miandad has aged. I had the image of Miandad of the 80's and 90's in my mind. People think Tendulkar is better than Gavaskar because many were able to watch Tendulkar play. Cable TV became prevalent in India in the 91. Before that not many matches played outside India were live telecasted on doordarshan. The guy played the WI legends with just a skull cap.
Also, Miandad, what a player. A street fighter who can grind out the opposition and accelerate if needed.

 

[MenInG]

Happy Birthday to Sunil Gavaskar

Born: 10 July 1949 (age 73 years), Mumbai, India

 

[MenInG]

Sunil Gavaskar is an all-time great in world cricket. The former Indian cricket team captain is often considered as one of the most skilled batters ever. He was the first cricketer to score 10,000 runs and once held the record for most number (34) of centuries. During the 70s and 80s, when West Indies were ruling world cricket, Gavaskar impressed with his impressive technique against the Windies fast bowlers. He was also part of the Indian team that won the 1983 World Cup. Now, honouring the legendary cricketer, a ground in Leicester has been named after him.

"Blessed to have a ground in Leicester named after me. This is a recognition not for me but for all those who played with me from tennis ball days to the internationals, my family and last but not least, my fans and well wishers. Thank you all for being part of this unforgettable journey," Gavaskar wrote on social media after the ground was named after him.

Recently, Gavaskar has touched upon the aspects that might help Virat Kohli return to his best form. The former Indian cricket team captain has not scored a ton since November, 2019. His recent form has not been great either.

"If I had about 20 minutes with him, I would be able to tell him the things he might have to do. It might help him, I am not saying it will help him but it could, particularly with regards to that off-stump line," Gavaskar told India Today.

"Having been an opening batter, having been troubled by that line, there are certain things that you try and do. If I get 20 minutes with him, I might be able to tell him.

"It goes back to the fact that his first mistake turns out to be his last. Again, just because he is not amongst the runs, there is this anxiety to play at every delivery because that is what batters feel, they have got to score. You look to play at deliveries that you otherwise won't. But he has gotten out to good deliveries as well on this particular tour."

NDTV

 

[Anis Shivani]

He didn't play any white ball cricket.

He played red ball ODIs, in which there was a Lunch break and a Tea break, and a strike rate of 60 was excellent.

Three of his four World Cups were 60 overs per side.

That means 12 overs each from Holding / Roberts / Garner / Croft, with 2 or 3 slips in place.

It was as difficult as Test cricket - you couldn't play modern high bat-speed ODI shots.

I saw him live. Lots of him. Not the earliest part of his career, and not the latter, but plenty in the middle. I think his reputation has grown over the years more than he deserves it. In a very poor India side, he was their most reliable bat, but very painful to watch. Among openers of the era I much preferred Boycott, even though he was slow too, but Boycott was much more fun to watch, for me at least. Not to mention Greenidge, Haynes, Majid. Majid didn't have Gavaskar's numbers, but would you rather watch him or Gavaskar? Other batsmen of the era were far superior: Viv, Greg Chappell, some of the West Indians, Zaheer, Miandad. My memory of watching him is that he wasn't comfortable against very fast bowling, so I'm not sure why he is praised for that. Sometimes reputations inflate in retrospect--partly, in his case, perhaps because he was a gentleman, so fellow cricketers are more likely to speak highly of him. I don't want to underestimate him either, but he was stodgy and never had the aggressive, fluid game so many great strokemakers of the era had. He knew how to play one way and that way alone, at least that's how I remember him. The one I never watched is Tendulkar, so I have no idea how to compare the two.

 

[Hitman]

He, along with Greg Chappell, are contenders of being the second best batsman of their time after Viv. He had an amazing, amazing technique and had enormous mental strength. Great players show their caliber and talent against the best teams of their time, which he did.