BCCI Secretary Jay Shah presented Sunil Gavaskar a special Indian cap to celebrate his 50 years of Test cricket debut during the third day of the fourth and final Test between India and England.
A young 21-year-old Sunil Gavaskar had walked into the stadium in Port of Spain in 1971 to face a deadly Caribbean bowling attack. However, he stood firm and scored 65 & 67* and hit the winning boundary. He also amassed 774 runs, the most by any player on his debut series despite missing the first match of the series.
When asked about how he felt on his debut, Gavaskar said, "I can't still believe 50 years have gone past. It almost feels like yesterday. Every school kid's dream is to play for India. That was my dream as well."
He further added, "I was given the India cap along with the blazer as well as the sweaters before the start of the tour. I had kept that cap in my kit bag, I was determined not to use it till I actually played for India. To put it on Day 1 was just an amazing, amazing feeling.’’
Gavaskar is often regarded as the greatest Test cricket batsman of all time. In his Test career, he represented India in 125 Tests and scored 10,122 runs at an average of 51.12 which included 34 centuries and 45 half-centuries.
Sunil Gavaskar was also the interim President of the BCCI, predominantly to manage the seventh Season of the Indian Premier League in 2014. He is now a widely respected cricket commentator.
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