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Sunil Gavaskar Birthday: Why Is He Called The Little Master? Career Stats And Achievements

Sunil Gavaskar Birthday: Why Is He Called The Little Master? Career Stats And Achievements

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Sunil Gavaskar Birthday: In a glorious 16-year career, he played 125 Test matches and scored 10,122 runs with 34 centuries, inspiring a golden generation of batters that followed.
Happy Birthday, Sunil Gavaskar: One of India's greatest cricketers, Sunil Gavaskar, celebrates his birthday today. Born on July 10, 1949, Gavaskar is renowned for his technical perfection and excellent resolve as a batter. Among the grittiest openers in Test cricket, Gavaskar's contribution to Indian cricket is huge as he stood up against the world's finest fast-bowling attacks, including the then dominant West Indies side, without ever using a helmet and became the first player in the history of Tests to reach 10,000 runs.
Gavaskar fought for days on the pitch to keep his Indian side competitive against the might of the Caribbean, the English, the Australians and Pakistan and changed perceptions about Indian cricket, earning the country great respect in the cricket world.
In a glorious 16-year career, Gavaskar played 125 Test matches and scored 10,122 runs with 34 centuries, inspiring a golden generation of batters that followed. He also made his mark as a captain of India, winning the 1985 Benson & Hedges Championship in Australia.
Why Sunil Gavaskar Is Called The Little Master?
Gavaskar is widely regarded as the original 'Little Master' of Indian cricket. The iconic nickname and title got bestowed upon him by the fans and commentators for his incredible batsmanship in the 70s and 80s.
Gavaskar's physical stature may be small, but he produced the tallest feats while facing great attacks in his prime.
Because of his remarkable attributes, including his masterful technique and unshakable temperament, the nickname Little Master perfectly suited the legend.
The maestro right-hander also represented his country in 108 One-Day Internationals with 3,092 runs at an average of 35.13 with 27 half-centuries and a solitary hundred.
Gavaskar, who was considered a slow-going player not fit for the fast-paced ODIs, proved his naysayers wrong by producing a scintillating 88-ball 103 not out at the 1987 World Cup versus New Zealand.
The Little Master held multiple great records during his career.
Apart from becoming the first player to reach 10,000 Test runs, Gavaskar's kitty of landmark achievements features the highest (774) runs in a series by a debutant, a feat he achieved against his favourite opposition, West Indies, at the age of 21 on the historic 1971 tour and helped India win in the Caribbean for the first time.
He was also the first player in Test cricket to go past Sir Donald Bradman's tally of 29 hundreds. Gavaskar's 34 centuries was a world record until 2005 when his legendary successor Sachin Tendulkar surpassed him.
In the year 1980, the Indian government conferred the prestigious Padma Bhushan to Gavaskar for his service to the nation, while the BCCI honoured him with the Col. CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012.
In 1996, Gavaskar and his Australian counterpart Allan Border were honoured by the two countries' cricket boards with the inauguration of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
10 Lesser-Known Facts About Sunil Gavaskar
Gavaskar once revealed he was swapped with a fisherman's son at his birth by the hospital staff and was only identified by his uncle because of a unique mark near his ear.
He is the only Indian to score hundreds in both innings of same Test 3 times and is the fastest Indian to get to 5,000 Test runs.
Sunil Gavaskar held the highest individual score for an Indian Test batter in England with his 221 at Old Trafford in 1974 until it was surpassed recently by Shubman Gill with his 269 at Edgbaston.
Gavaskar was part of a whopping 58 Test century partnerships alongside 18 different players.
He is the first non-wicketkeeper Indian fielder to bag over a hundred catches in Test cricket.
In 1983, Gavaskar became the first Indian to carry his bat through in a Test match with his 127 not out in the Faisalabad Test against Pakistan.
In 1980, Wisden named him one of their Cricketers Of The Year.
Gavaskar was sworn in as Bombay Sheriff, an honorary post, for a year at the Raj Bhavan in Mumbai in 1994.
He became the first and till date only Indian cricketer to deliver the MCC Spirit Of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture in 2003.
Gavaskar was appointed the interim BCCI president in 2014.
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