Birthday wishes poured in from the cricketing world for the iconic Sunil Gavaskar, who turned 71 on Friday. From the great Sachin Tendulkar to Sanjay Manjrekar to to VVS Laxman, many cricketers took to Twitter to wish their cricketing hero.
Rohit is on a paternity break and will miss the series-opener. Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is captaining the Indian team in his absence.
Sundar is expected to keep his place for the day night Test in Adelaide.
We have all had heroes. We have all wanted to be someone else. But there was nobody I wanted to be more than I wanted to be Sunil Gavaskar, notes Harsha Bhogle.
'I want to categorically deny any association with these accounts and their content. The statements being circulated are not my views and do not reflect my opinions in any way.'
'So whatever runs he might not have gotten (against Ireland), you know, he wants to score double the runs.'
To watch Dada standing on the steps of the airplane ladder with a glittering trophy in hand was exhilarating, recalls Hemant Kenkre.
'He is probably the best person to ask about the discrepancy in what you seem to have to say and what the Indian captain has said.'
'It's 2020 and things still don't change for me. When will I stop getting dragged into cricket and stop being used to pass sweeping statements?' Anu asked.
Kohli is 40 runs away from becoming only the third Indian batter to score 2,000 Test runs against England.
Former New Zealand captain Martin Crowe rated batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar higher than the West Indies legend Vivian Richards, saying that he admired the Indian veteran's footwork and his ability to keep things simple.
The sturdiness of the headgear saved Nizar's life after Gujarat's Arzan Nagwaswalla's full-blooded shot hit flush on the state emblem on his helmet in the Ranji Trophy semi-final in Ahmedabad on Friday.
As he closes the most revered chapter of his career, here are some of his best Test knocks:
Cricketing legends Sunil Gavaskar and Dilip Vengsarkar received yet another tribute in their native Mumbai when the Sunil Gavaskar Box and Dilip Vengsarkar Stand were inaugurated at the city's Wankhede stadium.
'He's an absolute legend. Lots of love and respect,' Aakash Chopra complimented the megastar on X.
Rajneesh Gupta lists all the important numbers from day two of the Oval Test.
If you have ever encountered the batting legend during one of his many tours, tell us about your experience and your interaction with him.
'No Indian batter has hit more sixes than him against fast bowling in Tests in Australia to date, and he has played only two Tests.'
Sunil Gavaskar and Virender Sehwag are the only two Indians to figure in a world XI selected by The Times writers. While Gavaskar is picked by the celebrated Christopher Martin-Jenjins for being "pure technical close-to-perfection," Alan Lee and John Woodcock second him, the latter describing Sunny as a "wonderful player".
'He is looking slightly preoccupied, maybe he is thinking about the WTC.'
The intense exchange between Kohli and Gambhir caused a stir on national television.
'I have seen Bishan paaji get worked up when he felt the game was losing its character because of some individual.'
A day after the Board of Control for Cricket in India denied that Sunil Gavaskar is due any payment for his term as an Indian Premier League Governing Council member, suspended chairman of the Twenty20 league Lalit Modi said the former India captain had always been forthright in his dealings and never known to lie.
Just as the umpire's decision is no longer final, what is disdainfully rejected is the age-old dictum that the game should be played and watched in the spirit of the game, sighs Uddalok Bhattacharya.
Former New Zealand captain Martin Crowe urged the younger generation of Indian batsmen to pick Sunil Gavaskar's brain on how to play fast bowling in adverse conditions, something he did more than three decades back and reaped its benefits.
Former England opener Geoffrey Boycott believes he was technically superior to Sunil Gavaskar even though his Yorkshire teammate Dicky Bird feels otherwise.
Until this innings, Dhoni didn't have a duck in his last 108 T20 games. This was his first zero in T20s since 2015.
'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.'
'...Again, just because he is not amongst the runs, there is this anxiety to play at every delivery because that is what batters feel, they have got to score.'
'Lunch date with the legend!' DK posted on his Facebook page.
'Not every county plays county cricket in England and not every state plays shield cricket in Australia'
Gavaskar wants Ashwin to lead team out on field in Dharamsala in his 100th Test.
This period saw big stars of the likes of Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev fade into the sunset while it was witness to the birth of slew of young Indian cricketers that made their mark home and abroad.
My captain no more, but will always be with me, says Sunil Gavaskar
As Sunil Gavaskar turned 66, Virender Sehwag paid a glowing tribute, saying what the batting legend did without wearing a helmet the best of batsmen today would not be able to do with all their equipments on.
Not undermining Sachin Tendulkar's rich contribution to the game of cricket, Pakistani cricketing legend-turned politician Imran Khan today said he always rates Sunil Gavaskar above any batsman in the world.
The former batting ace says he has ideas for the team, but will first discuss them with the team management.
On the verge of completing 20 years in international cricket, Sachin Tendulkar revealed that every time he crosses a milestone or breaks a record, Gavaskar always calls to congratulate him.
