Hope Shreyas Iyer goes on to higher levels: Sunil Gavaskar

Jay Bista, who scored 104 in Mumbai’s first innings against Rest of India in the Irani Cup, was in rapt attention along with the rest of his teammates as legendary Sunil Gavaskar gave him an invaluable piece of advice to improve concentration levels on Wednesday night.

Gavaskar told him to keep his eyes fixed on the ball while it was being relayed from the wicket-keeper to the bowler through the fielders. “Watch the ball as it travels from the ’keeper to the bowler. It helps in concentration.

Keep your eyes on the ball. It also shuts you away from the distraction that forward short-leg fielder or silly point may cause by constant chirping,” Gavaskar told Bista as Ranji Trophy-winning captain Aditya Tare and his mates were all ears.

There is something new whenever Gavaskar speaks, and this was one such that was not heard of previously. Things like this made Gavaskar stand out from the rest during his playing days when he became the first to 10,000-plus Test runs and notched up 13 of his 34 centuries with little protective gear against the fearsome West Indies pace bowlers.

When Gavaskar speaks, everyone listens with respect. Not just the players but also the MCA officials and others present. It was an evening put together by Cricket Club of India to honour the Mumbai team for their 41st Ranji Trophy title.

He congratulated the captain Aditya Tare and also lauded Siddhesh Lad’s 88 in the Ranji final, most of which was scored batting with the tail that proved to be decisive. “I am very happy. You did not win by 20 runs but by a

big margin, which is what Bombay team is known for,” he told the champion team after coach Chandrakant Pandit introduced the players one-by-one to him.

Asked what he thought about Mumbai winning 41 out of the possible 82 Ranji titles, Gavaskar, in his typical, cheeky style, said: “I am more concerned about the 41 times that they didn’t win.”

Gavaskar was in Sydney to receive the Pride of Maharashtra award by Marathi International Film and Theatre Awards (MIFTA) when Mumbai defeated Saurashtra by an innings and 21 runs in the last week of February. But he was still following the scores through his close friend and Mumbai chairman of selectors Milind Rege.

“I wouldn’t have enjoyed it (MIFTA award) as much had it not been for the Ranji title,” the former India opener said. “I was a bit nervous at the end of the second day when they were only 27 runs ahead with two wickets in hand. But I saw a little bit of the highlights and Siddhesh (Lad) played an outstanding innings (88). Because, it was a question of batting fourth, which is never easy. Even if you are chasing 200, it’s never easy. Of course luckily, Saurashtra also missed a few catches. But whatever, like I said to the team, they won in style. Winning by an innings is something what Mumbai used to do at their peak in the 1970s and 80s under Ajit (Wadekar) and all those captains, winning by big margins and completely outplaying the team. I was very happy with that.”

Gavaskar hoped that the season’s highest run-getter Shreyas Iyer goes on to higher levels. “I have not seen much of him (bat). I was hoping to have a look at him (on Wednesday in Irani Cup second innings) but he got out for 0. Anybody who gets a thousand-plus runs (in a season) has to be a special talent. I am just hoping that he goes on from there. He probably might not get a season like this but even if he gets an 800-plus season, which will be fantastic.”

Senior cricketers have shown immense interest in the Ranji Trophy team’s progress season after season. Former India and Mumbai batsman Pravin Amre mentioned Gavaskar seeing off the Mumbai team at Bombay Central station when he was first selected for the Ranji and travelling to Bengaluru.

Gavaskar said “If you are a Mumbai player, that connection never goes. So, you keep a tab with what is happening with the Mumbai team. Last year, when they recovered but didn’t go on to win, was a bit disappointing but ups and downs are a part of the game.”

He said he’d often bump into Mumbai Ranji coach and former India team-mate Chandrakant Pandit and enquire the team’s progress. “I was telling him, ‘maybe you should tell batsmen that they shouldn’t be happy with a hundred or 120 or 130, they need to convert them into 200s and 250s’. Not only will it be good for the team but it will also do a lot of good for their prospects of playing for the country. Lots of batsmen score hundreds but if you want selectors to notice, it’s got to be double hundreds, 250s so that the selectors sit up and take notice.”

Always known to score big centuries, Gavaskar said that a batsman scoring 250 is spoken about more than the regular centurions. “Not everybody gets 250. So, the selectors feel this guy is different. When you get 250, follow it up with a 200, then again a 150 maybe. Once you have got that 250, the headlines are there. Since there are six-seven league games happening at the same time, lots of hundreds happen but this stands out. Otherwise a hundred or a five-wicket performance will only feature in regional newspapers. For selectors to notice, you need a big double hundred. It doesn’t matter which region you are from, 250 will always be a headline.

“It’s simple. A hundred is a knock on the door. And the selectors are not 20 or 30 years old. They are getting into their 40s and 50s and, like me, may be are hard on hearing (laughs). A little bit of knock might not be heard by them, so you have got to knock a little harder with a 150. With 200, you break the door down so that they no longer have to hear you but are actually seeing you. That’s what I meant by saying 250-plus.”

The manner in which “thin and wiry” batsmen cleared the boundary with ease amazed the 125-Test veteran. He said IPL had a part to play in the players’ development.

“Look at the way Bangladesh cricket has improved after the Bangladesh Premier League. Bangladesh players were able to interact with international players and pick up things from them. Sometimes you just see how a player reacts to tension, reacts to pressure. That’s a bit of a learning curve as well. I am pretty certain someone like a Virat Kohli to be in the same dressing room as Sachin (Tendulkar) or Rahul (Dravid) or VVS (Laxman) and to see how they react to pressure and how they change their game under pressure for the benefit of the team has helped him. So definitely a lot of these players, players from other states also, are playing with international stalwarts in the IPL makes a big, positive difference.”