SMG and the art of gifting

If watching the YouTube video of cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar taking his opening partner Chetan Chauhan back to the pavilion with him during the 1981 Melbourne Test match against Australia suggests a bit of a temper you are probably rightGavaskar was adjudged leg before wicket by umpire Rex Whitehead following an appeal from Dennis Lillee despite getting in Richie Benaudrsquos words ldquoa big nickrdquo He had good reason to be infuriatedBut there is a soft cheerful witty and generous side to Gavaskar which we saw recently when he did the honours in presenting India womenrsquos cricketer Jemimah Rodrigues a guitar shaped as a bat mdash courtesy sports gear giants NikeAs expected the video went viral and Gavaskar gained more of a reputation for making people feel special Gavaskar over the years has been thoughtful Thoughtful enough to write a letter of encouragement written on the bonnet of his car before boarding an international flight for the Bicentenary Test in London to teenaged Sachin Tendulkar when he missed out on the Bombay Cricket Associationrsquos junior cricketer of the year award in 1987 That was before he presented Tendulkar with a pair of ultralight Morrant leg guards during the 198990 Irani Cup in Mumbai the game that confirmed 16yearold Tendulkarrsquos ticket to PakistanTendulkarrsquos first pair of the special leg guards also had a Gavaskar connection Hemant Kenkre who was Tendulkarrsquos first senior division captain at Cricket Club of India presented a pair of the pads to him before the 198788 Harris Shield final at the CCI Those pads were given to Kenkre by Gavaskar way back in 1980 Kenkre told me on Tuesday that Gavaskar mdash whom he refers to as Dada elder brother used them during his epic 221 against England at the Oval in 1979If the 1989 pads presentation came before Tendulkarrsquos maiden tour with India the 1988 gift was significant from a career point of view as wellldquoI felt very proud to wear pads once used by Sunil Gavaskar I went in to bat thirty minutes before lunch on the first day of the Shardashram vs AnjumanIIslam final and kept batting for close to two days I was eventually unbeaten on 346 when we were bowled out before tea on the third day It was a very significant innings in the context of my career for shortly afterwards I was included in the list of Probables for the Mumbai Ranji Trophy teamrdquo wrote Tendulkar in Playing It My WayWhile Tendulkar was the beneficiary of Gavaskarrsquos gloves his fellow Mumbaikar Sanjay Manjrekar received a bat from the Little Master while playing a match at Cross Maidan Manjrekar revealed in his book Imperfect how someone told him that Gavaskar was looking for him at one end of the maidan When Manjrekar met him he was given a ldquobrand new harrowsized GrayNicolls batrdquo which Manjrekarrsquos father had requested him to procure from one of his trips to England ldquoI remember not walking back to my tent I must have glidedrdquo wrote ManjrekarIt is quite clear that Gavaskar has lived with the belief that a cricketer must have the best of tools to practise his art and have the best protection too Former India batsman Gursharan Singh told me on Tuesday how Gavaskar surprised him by presenting him a pair of batting gloves that would provide adequate protection to the fingers after the Sikh endured a finger injury in the 198990 Irani Cup gameGursharan famously walked out to bat with a fractured finger to ensure Tendulkar reached his hundred in the match ldquoI was amazed by Gavaskarrsquos gesture He cared about me and did not want me to get injured again Those gloves provided extra protection for the fingersrdquo said GursharanFormer Mumbai opening batsman and captain Shishir Hattangadi recalled to me how Gavaskar once noticed that he Hattangadi needed a new bat ldquoI went to his Worli home with him after the game climbed his loft and pulled out a Duncan Fearnley bat He also asked me to help myself to a pair of glovesrdquo Hattangadi told meGavaskar has been known to part with equipment that holds special significance In 1983 he gifted West Indies wicketkeeper Jeff Dujon the bat with which he went past Sir Donald Bradmanrsquos record tally of 29 Test centuries at ChennaiThree years later David Frith the then editor of Wisden Cricket Monthly asked Gavaskar if he had anything for his private museumFrith described his moment of elation in his book Caught England Bowled Australia thus ldquoI had in mind perhaps an old sock or jockstrap but my Indian friend the only batsman to have made 30 or more centuries in Test cricket then beamed that slightly mystic smile as he slowly removed his England 1986 tour blazer and handed it to me I really did think he was joking but he was notrdquoI mentioned earlier how Gavaskar can make people feel good His very presence and concern made people feel better In 2017 Gavaskar was at Jaslok Hospital to attend to his mother He gathered that his Bombay Associated Cement Companies and Nirlon opening partner Kiran Ashar was hospitalised too He heads to the ICU and sees Ashar in a semiconscious state ldquoCrsquomon Kiran letrsquos walk out to bat The umpires have called playrdquo Gavaskar tells his friend who can barely open his eyes Asharrsquos family is touched The wicketkeeperbatsman passes away later that yearYears have passed since Gavaskar saved a family from a hate mob outside his Worli Sea Face apartment during the 1993 bomb blasts There was no thrill involved in this act but wherever that family is they must be thanking Gavaskar every day We wonrsquot ever see a seething Gavaskar walk off the pitch again like Melbourne 1981 but gestures towards Rodrigues amp Co we shall certainly hear and read aboutmiddayrsquos Deputy Editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stanceHe tweets ClaytonMurzello Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper