Sunil Gavaskar to be felicitated by Mumbai Cricket Association on 75th birthday

Sunil Gavaskar, India. (Photo Source: Mark Leech/Getty Images)

Legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar will be celebrating his 75th birthday on July 10, 2024. To celebrate the sesquicentennial occasion for the Bombay-born, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) will be felicitating him as a token of gratitude towards the former cricketer. The decision to honour the veteran cricketer was decided during the recent board meeting held on Wednesday, May 29.

MCA discussed and finalized several decisions during the meet, but the one to pay tribute to the ex-India batter on his birthday was the most significant. The cricketer who represented India for more than 16 years will be celebrated for his unforgettable contributions to the sport. Now 74, Gavaskar is an icon of the game, and his felicitation will be a befitting gesture by the local cricketing body.

“Proposed by MCA President Mr. Amol Kale and unanimously approved by the Apex Council, Mumbai Cricket Association proudly announces the felicitation of Mr. Sunil Gavaskar on his 75th Birthday,” an X post of the official MCA handle read.

Among other decisions taken at the meet, Dhawal Kulkarni, who retired with the victorious 2024 Ranji season, has been appointed as the bowling mentor for the domestic side. The former pacer will be assuming the position for the upcoming domestic season. Additionally, MCA shall also be releasing a stamp and a coffee table book as the Wankhede Stadium celebrates its golden jubilee year.

The journey of Little Master

The Septuagenarian cricketer made his first-class debut for Mumbai during the 1966-67 season of the Ranji Trophy, and that remained his only team in Indian domestic cricket. Standing not-so-tall at five and a half, Gavaskar carried his bat to do what Mumbai were exactly known for—DOMINATE.

A star-studded Mumbai team was probably one of those teams that could face even the international teams and probably beat a few of them with ease, and this is exactly what they saw in Gavaskar, as he was chosen as the first-choice opener for his debut series against the deadly West Indies for the 1971 tour. And in his first every series, the minuscule batter scored a load of runs—774, a record standing taller than the man himself till date.

The Mumbaiker also became the first-ever batter to breach the 10000-run mark in Test cricket without any fancy drama or hype during that period. At home ground—the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Gavaskar played his last international outing during the second semi-final of the 1987 Reliance World Cup, which the hosts eventually lost.

He ended his playing career as one of the finest opening batters of all-time, and tilted his ship towards different roles in the administrative world of the sport. In addition to various positions with the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Gavaskar also chaired the International Cricket Council for a term, which came to an abrupt end.

Gavaskar is also one of the finest commentators associated with the elite panel of the ICC for quite some time now. Accoladed with enormous achievements, being honoured by the Mumbai Cricket Association will be yet another feather in the Little Master’s cap.

It was Gavaskar. De real master. Just like a wall, we couldn’t out Gavaskar at all. Not at all. You know, the West Indies couldn’t out Gavaskar at all.