Rediff.com« Back to articlePrint this article

'No other team is under so much pressure'

August 30, 2023 19:05 IST

'The pressure can be telling and I think that's the kind of pressure the Indian team is currently experiencing with everyone wanting them to win the Asia Cup and the World Cup.'

IMAGE: Amrit Mathur, Sunil Gavaskar, ad guru Piyush Pandey (who played college cricket with Amrit) and Harsha Bhogle at the Cricket Club of India on Tuesday, August 29, 2023. All Photographs: Hitesh Harsinghani/Rediff.com

It was a dream evening for cricket aficionados as slegends of Indian cricket gathered in Mumbai on Tuesday.

Greats like Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar and Diana Edulji along with Pravin Amre and Sanjay Bangar came together for launch of veteran cricket administrator Amrit Mathur, who launched his memoir Pitchside: My Life in Indian Cricket at the iconic Cricket Club of India.

IMAGE: Sunil Gavaskar signs autographs for Amrit Mathur.

As Mathur took a walk down memory lane on his experiences as the Indian team's manager, Gavaskar also shed light on the pressure modern day Indian cricketers face.

"I don't think there's any other cricket team in the world which is under as much pressure of expectations than the Indian team," said Gavaskar.

"Because every match that the team plays, the fans, the followers -- not just in India, but across the world -- expect and want India to win."

IMAGE: Sunil Gavaskar with Harsha Bhogle.

With India set for two big events in the near future, Gavaskar called upon the fans to come out in support of Rohit Sharma and his boys, irrespective of the result.

Videos: Afsar Dayatar/Rediff.com

"In sport, we all know that sometimes you win, sometimes you don't. The pressure can be telling and I think that's the kind of pressure the Indian team is currently experiencing with everyone wanting them to win the Asia Cup and the World Cup -- which will be held in a month and a bit."

"This is where, we, as cricket followers, need to show a bit more understanding.

"There will be days when the team will not be able to play up to its potential and let us keep our fingers crossed that if these days come, they happen at the league stage and not at the knockout stage," the batting great said.

IMAGE: Sunil Gavaskar autographs a copy of his autobiography Sunny Days.

 

IMAGE: Former India batter Pravin Amre with ex-Mumbai captain Milind Rege.

 

IMAGE: One of India's finest batters Dilip Vengsarkar with Milind Rege.

 

IMAGE: Former India women's captain Diana Edulji speaks to Sanjay Bangar.

 

IMAGE: Sunil Gavaskar with former BCCI chief administrative officer Professor Ratnakar Shetty.

 

 

 

HITESH HARISINGHANI, AFSAR DAYATAR