cricket books I got from India, I had a chance to read "Runs N Ruins" by none
other than my idol, Sunil Gavaskar. Going through the book, I was VERY dis-
appointed to read that he flatly refused to walk against Pakistan and Mafatlal.
Even if he KNEW he was out. The opposition is mentioned in this article only
to be correct in representing Gavaskar's writing. Here is a man who is/was a
hero (to put it mildly) to millions of people around the world, and truly an
ambassador of the game itself, flatly stating that there were circumstances
when he found it acceptable to put his/India's "performance" above that of the
integrity of the game. Gavaskar also recounts an incident where Imran Khan
did the same thing, and acknowledged that to Sunny on the same day!
By the way, to the best of my recollection, Sunny never explained why he had
this policy against those two opponents only.
I do not believe that I am naive. In fact, my wife has to constantly remind
me not to get too caught up in the politics, but I believe that the game itself
and all its fans are being cheated by these players trying to rationalize such
atrocious behavior by saying that "everyone does it". The authorities, and
more importantly, the fans should penalize such over-achievers if we want the
game to remain enjoyable and a "sport".
Why do geniuses (at their art) like the two named above, Larry Bird, John
McEnroe, etc. have to compromise the game to achieve personal glory? I guess
the rewards have truly gotten "too big", and for that, we are largely respon-
sible. To me, it's just another reason to remember matches like the Sharjah
final by the memorable performances of Aamir Sohail, Basit Ali, Vinod Kambli,
and Atul Bedade, and as a true "match" between two teams. Pakistan, the
better team that day, won the match, but that is not as important as how the
game was played.
Anyway, one of the new friends I made by sharing Holding's autobiography is
Venky. And thanks to him, I now have a copy of a tape of England being dis-
missed for 46. Just remembering some of those deliveries, with Holding saying
"Aaambrose, chaargin' in" in the background, gives me goosebumps. Thanks,
Venky!
Pankaj
P.S: So, Venky, when will I get a chance to see the tapeS of Lara's 375 ;-)?