On Monday, the legendary Indian cricketer, Sunil Gavaskar walked into the Police Gymkhana as the chief guest for the 71st Police Shield, it was quite a nostalgic outing for the cricketing legend. And the emotions were flying as Gavaskar addressed the crowd and the young cricketers of the title-winning Parkhophene team.
Gavaskar acknowledged that coming here did bring back memories, he said, “When we were growing up, there were three tournaments that we would look forward to — the Purshottam Shield, the (Padmakar) Talim Shield, and the Police Shield. Yes, there was Kanga League of course, but that was played in the rainy season. But f you wanted to impress the selectors, these were the three tournaments that you wanted to do well. That’s where the selection committee took note of you. I remember, we won it playing for Mumbai University.”
The legendary cricketer said that club cricket plays a crucial role in the development of a player.
Describing the same, Gavaskar said, “Club cricket is the lifeblood of our teams. Without club cricket, you will not get players who will make it to the Ranji Trophy or go on to play Tests and ODIs. That’s why club cricket becomes very important. I am happy that Police has continued its support. A lot of outstation players come here not necessarily to play for Mumbai but to get a feel of Mumbai cricket and learn the culture.”
ALSO READ: Sunil Gavaskar Has A Much Needed Advice For MS Dhoni
While welcoming him to the stage, the emcee narrated his illustrious records in international cricket but missed out on his two wickets and Gavaskar pulled his leg.
Gavaskar jokingly said, “The fact is I have also got wickets. I have got a wicket in Test cricket and one in One-day cricket and those are very important. I was the perhaps the only bowler in the 1978 tour of Pakistan to have got Zaheer Abbas out for less than a hundred. Otherwise, he was scoring big every time. But I will let it go and not be like my dear friend, Geoffrey Boycott.”
He also narrated an incident when Boycott had refused to pay a cab driver in Trinidad as he had got his playing statistics wrong.
Recalling the incident, the legend said, “Boycott was playing golf in Port of Spain. When he got out of the club there was a taxi waiting outside. The taxis in those days were the old Impala cars. So, Geoffrey got into the car and sat in the back with his kit. The taxi driver saw that it was Boycott and he got very excited about seeing him.”
ALSO READ: Geoffrey Boycott insulted Indian cricket team
The driver told Boycott that he was his big fan and started illustrating the number of Boycott’s career.
Gavaskar recalled, “He said, ‘I know every statistics. You remember in 1974-75 when you came here, you got 95 in the first innings and 107 in the second innings and that to mind was the reason why England won the Test and not because of Tony Greig. Not him man, it was your batting.’ He went on and on till they reached the hotel. Geoffrey got out of the car and the driver got down. Geoffrey told him, ‘listen, I did not score 95, I scored 97. I did not get 107 in the second innings, I got a 112. Anybody who takes even one run off my Test career, doesn’t deserve to get paid.”
