‘Sunil Gavaskar is the best opener I have seen’

Former India all-rounder Ravi Shastri on Wednesday said that ex-captain Sunil Gavaskar remains the best opener he has seen in world cricket.

Shastri paid the ‘little master’ glorious tributes on Wednesday after Gavaskar was inducted into the Legends Club as the fourth member on his 64th birthday.

‘Over the last forty years the three best openers I have seen are Gordon Greenidge (West Indies), Graham Gooch (England) and Matthew Hayden (Australia). But Sunil Gavaskar stands apart. I have not seen a better opening batsman,’ said Shastri in his keynote address at the Cricket Club of India.

Shastri pointed out how Gavaskar had battled fearlessly and scored tons of runs against some of the best pace bowlers the world has seen, especially the fiery West Indian pace battery of the late 1970s and 1980s.

‘There were no visors, no helmets and you needed rock solid defence to bat for 5-6 hours in a day. He had nerves of steel. His hunger for runs was astounding. ,’ said Shastri. ‘It was in Guyana. He had not got many runs in the first two Tests. He came to my room and called me out to dinner. He wanted to unwind. Two days later I saw batting of the very highest order from him,’ recalled Shastri.