Sobers the greatest ever: Shastri

Jul 28, 2016 at 3:24 PM

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Sobers the greatest ever: Shastri

Post lot of controversy regarding the head coach of Indian cricket team, Ravi Shastri is again in news but this time for a positive reason as the former director of Indian cricket team heaped praises on Sir Gary Sobers on his birthday and said “In 139 years of Test cricket, Sobers is the greatest cricketer ever. It’s as simple as that. In a 93-Test package, he averaged 57.78. Now that is something. Then you have his 235 wickets and 100-plus catches. It’s quite incredible.

Along the way, during these 139 years, you had the Tendulkars, Bradmans, and other greats. But Sobers was the greatest — a true match-winner. He must have influenced 60 out of his 93 Tests,” Said the former all-rounder.

“He was showing us how he would play and while he did that, I looked at the great man’s feet and how they moved as he was playing the ‘shots’ and I told Ian to watch those feet.
This was around 1998, so Sobers was well into his 60s and it was at two or three in the morning. It was quite remarkable,” added Shastri.

He also recalled an occasion when he was dumbfounded by Sobers in the commentary box as he asked him a difficult question

“Sobers said he enjoyed batting at six because it was a challenge and he believed he would get a hundred or even a double hundred with not much support at the other end — maybe with half a batsman and three bowlers”?.

Shastri was to attend the birthday of Gary Sobers as he stated earlier last month only but due could not make it there.

Though Ravi Shastri does not stand anywhere to Sobers records but he is the proud owner of a record that is also held by Gary Sobers. Shastri once smashed six sixes in an over in a Ranji trophy match between Mumbai and Baroda. He took on the Baroda’s spinner Tilak Raj and sent him across the ropes 6 consecutive times as became only the second batsmen to achieve this feat.

On the occasion of 80th birthday of Gary Sobers, former Indian batsman Virender Sehwag did not forget to wish the legend in his own style as he tweeted –

Really Sobers will be quite amused with all the praises coming from India.

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