Sidath’s short and sweet Sunny story

‘Pick that ball up,’ Gavaskar told SL pacer De Mel after two splendid shots in response to a ribcage-hurting delivery in Kanpur 1986; icon later apologised, recalls Wettimuny

Out of sight isn’t always out of mind. The legendary Sunil Gavaskar isn’t in Sri Lanka during the ongoing Asia Cup, but he continues to generate awe and reverence in Sri Lankans of all ilk. Among those in the Gavaskar fan club is Sidath Wettimuny, the former opener, who made his country’s first Test century.(v Pak in 1981-82) Wettimuny and the great Mumbaikar are excellent buddies, a bond sparked by cricket that has grown over time.

‘A role model’

To Wettimuny, the first man to reach 10,000 Test runs was a wonderful role model, who inspired not just Indians, but Asian batsmen as a whole. “Sunny was a fabulous player, a great cricketer,” Wettimuny tells mid-day. “It’s just respect for what he was as a cricketer and the way he has carried himself, with dignity. He was a role model for Asian cricketers to aspire to be. He stood out because he took the West Indians on, he took the Aussies on, all of them. At that time, there weren’t too many in this region who were doing that. He became a role model for guys like us, who were trying to get better.”

Asantha de Mel

Now 67, Wettimuny has a fabulous Gavaskar story to reiterate that the latter could have been a master of the one-day game if he had so desired. “I must tell you this, I’ve never told this to anyone before,” he begins, with a twinkle in his eye. “I have a fascinating experience, fascinating. I used to think the world of Sunny Gavaskar, we all did, right? And you would say he was a player who went and played a certain game. That’s his game, and many felt that he could not play anything different. But I recall one incident which tells me about the mindset change that can help great players perform very well in all three formats.

Sunil Gavaskar during the 1980s. Pic/Getty Images

“It was my last tour of India (1986-87) and we were playing a Test in Kanpur. We got around 400 (420); it was a fairly green top, it was lively. And we had (paceman) Ashantha de Mel, who was pretty sharp. He was bowling at Sunny, and he hit him on the ribcage. I was at first slip and I remember that Ashantha hurt him, really hurt him. But Sunny just gave it a little rub and took strike. The next ball, Ashantha with his tail up came in and bowled short of a length on the off-side. Sunny hit him so hard through extra-cover, then said to Ashantha, ‘Pick that ball up.’ We were shocked, there was pin-drop silence. Ashantha goes with his tail up again, really annoyed. Shortish ball, chest-high, and he pulls him to mid-wicket like a gunshot. He tells him again, ‘Pick that up.’ And we were just spellbound.

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True spirit of the game

“That was the last ball of the over and Sunny quickly walks up to Ashantha and says, ‘Sorry, Ashantha, I lost my cool, sorry’. Now  what it tells me is if he could do that, hell, he could do it in any game if he wanted to, because he was a great player. This story always stays in my mind because when I think of that, I think ‘wow’. That was Sunny Gavaskar for you. And the fact that he ran up and apologised to Ashantha, that was also great because that’s the spirit in which we played the game.”

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