The world of cricket is still in shock as it mourns the untimely demise of Shane Warne. The Australian maestro was a magician with the ball and also one of the greatest showmen of the game. Condolences poured in for Warne from lovers of the sport. His teammates and fellow opposition cricketers paid their homage to the wizard’s mastery on and off the field. However, recently Sunil Gavaskar made a shocking statement that ended up in a squabble.
His sensational remarks enraged cricket aficionados for not considering Warne as the world’s greatest spinner. Speaking to India Today, Gavaskar initially celebrated Warnie’s prowess as a leg-spinner as he considered wrist spin as the toughest craft to master.
“Finger spin is a lot easier, you have a lot more control over what you want to bowl, but leg-spin or wrist spin is very, very tough…..For him to have bowled the way he did, the way he seemed to create magic, the way he seemed to be able to deliver magic deliveries at will was the reason why he was revered all over the world,”
Sunil Gavaskar To India Today
“would rank him over Warne” Gavaskar hails Muralitharan over Warne
The former Indian opener was asked about whether he believes Warne to be the greatest spinner he has ever seen. Gavaskar rated the Sri Lankan sorcerer of spin Muttiah Muralitharan and India’s litany of spinners ahead of the Aussie legend. Gavaskar made a shocking statement describing Warne’s performance against India as “pretty ordinary”.
“Look at Shane Warne’s record against India. It was pretty ordinary. In India, he got five wickets only once in Nagpur, and that too because Zaheer Khan swung wildly against him to give him a fifer. Because he did not have much success against Indian players who were very good players of spin, I don’t think I would call him the greatest. Muttiah Muralitharan with a greater success he had against India, I would rank him over Warne in my book.”
Gavaskar added.
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Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne have always been arch-rivals when it came to the discussion of who was the greatest amongst the two. Both the cricketers were geniuses of their art and ruled the roosts in their entire careers. In red-ball cricket, Warne has taken 708 dismissals in 145 Tests. He is second only to Muralitharan in the list of highest wicket-takers in the longest format of the game. With 800 scalps to his name, Muralitharan is the numero uno in terms of wickets taken. However several pundits have often criticized him for his atypical bowling action. Though the fraternity is divided into two schools of thought, everyone unanimously agrees to the fact that Warne and Muralitharan are true GOATs of the game.
Gavaskar expresses regret over his controversial remarks
Little Master Sunil Gavaskar faced immense backlash over his comments on Warne. Netizens called out the cricketer’s criticism to be ill-timed and insensitive especially when the world is still in the trauma of the stalwart’s loss. Australian media too mocked the batting legend as Gavaskar made a shocking statement. The Fox News headlines said “Honestly… It’s not the time: Indian legend slammed for ‘shameful’ Warne claim,”. It prompted Gavaskar to express his regret over his statements in a video he posted on Instagram.
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In this video, Gavaskar says that it was the right time to evaluate the records and compare. He accepted that his remarks were honest yet it was not appropriate to answer that question in the current scenario.
“Last week was a very traumatic time for cricket fraternity as in 24 hours, we lost two of the most iconic cricketers the game has seen – Rodney Marsh and Shane Warne. On TV, I was asked by an anchor whether Warne was the greatest spinner and I gave my honest opinion. In hindsight, that question should not have been asked nor should it have been answered as it was not the right time for any comparison or evaluation. Warne was one of the greatest players to ever grace the game. Rodney Marsh too was one of the greatest wicketkeepers the game has seen. May their souls rest in eternal peace.”
Gavaskar stated in a video message posted on Instagram.
