Sunny by Disposition; Mirza’s ‘Marzi’

Sreelata YellamrazuJul 10 2009

Looking at the top sports stories this morning, one had to wonder whether some of the limelight for Sunil Gavaskar has been stolen by the news of Sania Mirza’s engagement.

border gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar, India’s legendary batsman, is said to turn sixty today. Perhaps he will forgive us for thinking that it appeared he should have been much older. It has little to do with the rather heavier frame he has developed these days or with the fact that his white hair has to forced to run black on a too frequent basis, eliciting comments even from the former Australian captain, Ian Chappell.

But Gavaskar, to most contemporary cricket fans in the younger age groups, use his name synonymously with Father Time. The reason is that for most of them Gavaskar is a legend they have not seen in action but rather a hero by a bygone era. Rather Gavaskar has become permanent as a cricket commentator. With Sachin Tendulkar coming forth to supersede Gavaskar’s greatness, Gavaskar was perhaps reduced (although it is not the appropriate word) to being the man whose records Sachin broke.

ponting hands raised

Yesterday Ricky Ponting joined the 11,000 run group originally shared by Sunil Gavaskar with Allan Border and then Sachin Tendulkar. Ponting achieved the feat when he scored his thirty-eighth Test century at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff during the first Ashes Test.

sania mirza

But the spotlight is not only on Gavaskar's birthday today. India’s tennis star, Sania Mirza, is getting officially engaged to be married. That has brought forth news, views and controversies, enough for Gavaskar to share the day’s headlines.

One wonders by the euphoria surrounding Mirza’s engagement, what kind of madness would ensure if Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s marriage become the next big headline.