Bhatia gifts a book, “Sunny G”, to Gavaskar on his 75th birthday celebrating his inspirational journey

By K.R. Nayar

Sunil Gavaskar celebrated his 75th birthday in England on July 10. For me, this is the birthday of a role model who inspires and motivates me through his words and mere presence. Just watching him walk in or even sitting beside him reminds me that nothing is impossible if you stand up with positivity and aim for it. To celebrate his birthday, his dear friend, UAE-based businessman and cricket enthusiast Shyam Bhatia, created a book about him titled ‘Sunny G’ and presented it to him in the presence of Sachin Tendulkar, a cricketer who followed his footsteps to become another legend. Bhatia shared with me the videos and photos from the event, and it felt like I was there too at the Brasserie Restaurant in Central London attending his birthday celebration.

Shyam Bhatia presents 'Sunny G' to Sunil Gavaskar 

Those who attended the celebration included his brother-in-law Gundappa Vishwanath, and another of Gavaskar’s dear friends, former West Indies skipper Clive Lloyd. Also present were Zaheer Abbas, another batsman who could never be stopped from scoring runs, and Geoff Boycott, who was hard to dismiss, both with the same qualities like Gavaskar when he was a player. Pakistan all-rounder Mushtaq Mohammad was also present. It was gracious of Sourav Ganguly and Ajit Agarkar join with their wives, all of which made it look more like an enjoyable family get-together!

Sunil Gavaskar, flanked by Clive Lloyd and Shyam  Bhatia, releases the book 

Bhatia, who thinks about cricket all the time, had suggested the idea of a book on Gavaskar during one of their many conversations on cricket at the Shyam Bhatia museum. “This will be my next book after Portraits of the Game,” Bhatia had declared nearly a year ago. Bhatia always makes it a point to meet Gavaskar on his birthday and wish him. On July 10, 2020, when Gavaskar celebrated his 71st birthday, Bhatia could not fly out due to coronavirus travel restrictions. That day, I wrote a blog about how much Bhatia missed meeting him in person. Star Sports channel, having heard of Bhatia and Gavaskar’s friendship, connected both of them and helped Bhatia wish Gavaskar live on television.

Sunil Gavaskar with Shyam Bhatia and his wife, and Sachin  Tendulkar and his wife 

Bhatia was delighted that he could spend over an hour on the Star Sports Channel show with ‘Sunil,’ as he addresses him. After the show, Bhatia had said: “I felt like I had met him in person. I always ask endless questions about his knocks and his career, and he entertains me with many stories. Today, I could applaud him with a few other enthusiasts of the game and share the joy of his special day. I did not feel like I missed him in person because, as always, he narrated tales, mimicked players, and even sang a song on the show. It feels great to have applauded the legend.” Gavaskar has also often surprised Bhatia by turning up for Bhatia’s birthday in Dubai.

Shyam Bhatia with Sunil Gavaskar on the Star Sports Channel show in 2020

At the Brasserie Restaurant, Bhatia presented the book ‘Sunny G’ to Gavaskar. Gavaskar, while opening the wrapped book remarked, “This is the first gift for my birthday that I am opening.” Bhatia has co-authored the book with journalist Debasish Datta.

It is not surprising that Tendulkar was present with his wife Anjali. Just as Gavaskar has motivated many and made Indians believe that cricket records can be broken by Indians, he had inspired Tendulkar too. As a schoolboy, despite his high scores, Tendulkar had missed out on winning the Bombay Cricket Association’s Junior Cricketer of the Year award and was terribly disappointed. In fact, he had refused to play for a month after that. That was when Gavaskar, in a letter to him, had written: “Don’t be disappointed at not getting the Best Junior Cricketer award from BCA. If you look at the past award winners, you will find one name missing, and that person has not done badly in Test cricket!”

With the two legends 

This instance is just one among the many inspiring moments from Gavaskar . He has commented on many of my blogs, and has always added a spring to my step to run and write more. Every time I meet him, I get the feeling of having met not just a legendary cricketer but a great thinker, a man with exemplary communication skills, and an outstanding commentator. His ability to write has amazed me too.