‘They should’ve done it on Day 1’, says Sunil Gavaskar as he was unhappy with Team India’s gesture for former great

By
Teja Devathoti
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Sunil Gavaskar

The former Indian master blaster Sunil Gavaskar seems unhappy with the Indian cricket team as they delayed the gesture to pay tribute to the oldest Indian test cricketer. The Indian cricket team players on Saturday wore black armbands as a mark of respect in the memory of former captain Dattajirao Gaekwad on the third day of the ongoing third Test against England in Rajkot. The third test began on February 15, two days after Gaekwad’s demise.

This gesture was to pay tribute to former India Test cricketer Dattajirao Gaekwad, who passed away on February 13 after remaining hospitalized for 12 days. At 95, he was India’s oldest living Test cricketer. Dattajirao was the father of former India batter and coach Aunshuman Gaekwad.

A right-handed batter, who could bowl both medium pace and leg-break, Dattajirao was India’s captain during the 1959 tour of England.

Dattajirao scored 350 runs in his 11 Tests, including a half-century. He was a prolific run-getter in first-class cricket for Baroda, amassing 5788 runs in 110 matches with 17 hundreds and 23 fifties. His highest score was 249 not out in first-class cricket.

Sunil Gavaskar is livid with Team India’s delay gesture

Despite the respect shown by the Indian players, batting legend Sunil Gavaskar was left livid as it took the team management three days into the Test match to realize it.

“They should’ve done it on Day 1 but better late than never,” Gavaskar said on commentary. “He was captain of the Indian team in a five-match series. He captained four out of the five matches and the other one by Pankaj Roy.”

Earlier, the BCCI had mourned the death of Dattajirao Gaekwad and also paid tribute to him with a heartfelt social media post.

“The BCCI expresses its profound grief at the passing away of Dattajirao Gaekwad, former India captain and India’s oldest Test cricketer. He played in 11 Tests and led the team during India’s Tour of England in 1959. Under his captaincy, Baroda also won the Ranji Trophy in the 1957-58 season, beating Services in the final. The Board expresses its heartfelt condolences to Gaekwad’s family, friends, and admirers,” the board tweeted on February 13.

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