Sunil Gavaskar Profile

Full Name:	Sunil Manohar Gavaskar
Date of Birth:	10 July 1949, Mumbai, Maharashtra
Height:	5 ft 5 in
Education:	St Xavier's College; Bombay University
Batting style:	Right-hand bat

Sunil Gavaskar - There was a time when good teams did not want to tour India. After all who would like to play with a team which could be bundled out twice in the course of the day? It was during this period that a man named Sunil Gavaskar came on the horizon of the Indian cricket. The "little master", as Sunil Gavaskar came to be called, changed the face of Indian cricket. His spectacular cricket career began with a bang. In his debut Test series against the West Indies (1971) he scored a record 774 runs and soon became a national hero for the cricket fans in India. To him goes the credit of making cricket a household name in India.

Achievements And Accolades
Gavaskar very much became a public figure, winning the highest of national and state awards. Despite all these achievements, he is easily accessible and humble. He has the charm and the ability to disarm his critics and win friends. By his outstanding performances, Sunil Gavaskar won many man of the match awards. Sunny Gavaskar was the member of the world cup winning team in 1983. In the year 1985, Sunny led the team to victory in the World Championship in Australia. He was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1980 and was also awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Indian government. He has served as the Sheriff of Mumbai and is now a writer and commentator. He has written an autobiography, "Sunny Days". His son, Rohan has also represented India at international level.

Early Promise
Sunil Gavaskar had a great cricketing heritage in his family. His father was a good club cricketer in his days. Gavaskar's early obsession for the game was harnessed by his mother. Cricket fascinated Gavaskar ever since he was a little boy. In his childhood, Sunny used to play cricket with his mother in the small gallery of their apartment. He played with his mother with a tennis ball. From the very begging he showed a lot of promise. Once, playing with his mother Sunil hit a straight drive so hard on her face that her nose started bleeding.

Major Teams:	India, Mumbai, Somerset
Batting Style:	Right Hand Bat
Bowling Style:	Right Arm Medium
ODI Debut:	vs England at Leeds, Prudential Trophy, 1974
Test Debut:	vs West Indies at Port-of-Spain, 2nd Test, 1970/71
Last Test:	vs Pakistan at Bangalore, 5th Test, 1986/87
Last ODI:	vs England at Bombay, World Cup, 1987/88

Sunny's obsession with the bat became so strong that whenever he was out, he would walk home with the bat and the ball, which usually brought an end to the game as no body else in the neighborhood had the bat and ball. To avoid spending long hours in the field, his friends used to appeal at a decided point, no matter Sunny was out or not. Seeing his potential, Sunil Gavaskar was sent to the St. Xavier's High School as it had a rich tradition of cricket.

Turning Point
Joining the St. Xavier's high School proved the turning point of Gavaskar's carrier as the school boasted of many recognized players, including Ashok Mankad. Playing for Bombay, Sunny scored 246 in the Cooch Behar Trophy in 1965-66. Sunil's prolific run getting saw him get selected for the All India schools team against the touring London Schoolboys. Young Gavaskar was awarded with the J.C.Mukherjee Trophy for the Best Schoolboy Cricketer of the year in 1965-66.. Subsequently, he was selected for the Bombay University and the Bombay Ranji Trophy team.

Sunil Gavaskar Biography
Sunil Gavaskar was born in a middle class family in Mumbai on the 10th of July in 1949. His father was a good club player while he got his cricketing lessons from his maternal uncle. Sunil came on the Indian cricket horizon in the year 1971. Earlier, he joined the St. Xavier's High school because of its rich cricket traditions. Thereafter Sunil Gavaskar played for the Bombay University and The Bombay Ranji team. He made his debut against the West Indies at Port Of Spain and went on to score 65 and 67 against the fiery bowling attack of the West Indies. Later, Gavaskar's batting exploits in the W. Indies made the W. Indians, his die hard fans. They even composed Calypso in his honor.

The most amazing thing about Gavaskar was that he reserved his best for the very best team in that era and they were the West Indies! There was no looking back for this young man and he went on to score several centuries against the likes of the W. Indies, England, Australia, Pakistan etc. Sunil Gavaskar became the architect of many famous wins for India. At the same time he saved many matches for the country. His awesome records speak for himself. If one goes through the conditions under which these runs were scored, one would then realize how superhuman his efforts were! A batsman with 34 Test centuries and more than 10,000 runs is not born everyday!

Ups And downs
His perfect technique and temperament made him one of the greatest batsmen of all times but Sunil Gavaskar could not adjust to the demands of the one day cricket. He was a technician and he wasn't comfortable in playing strokes, which did not form part of the coaching manuals. Just imagine, he could score only 36 not out in a match of 60 overs against England. His only century in the ODIs came against the New Zealand in the Reliance World cup, 1987. Though he was a great batsman but as a captain he did not live up to expectations as India won just 10 Tests under his captaincy.