During the fifth and final Test against England in Dharamsala, Sunil Gavaskar slammed Sarfaraz Khan for his reckless shot that led to his dismissal. Sarfaraz scored 56 runs off 59 deliveries in the first innings.
Sarfaraz tried to be over ambitious after the tea break and played a cut short off Shoaib Bashir’s ball, only to get caught in the slip cordon.
Gavaskar was disappointment and reacted angrily in the commentary box. “The ball was not short to play that shot. He was playing the first ball after the break and should have given a himself some time before taking on the bowlers,” Gavaskar said.
“Don Bradman once told me that he treats every ball as if he is batting on zero even if his individual score is 200. And now look at Sarfaraz. He played a wrong stroke on the first ball of the session.”
Sarfaraz had actually met the legendary Gavaskar in the team hotel in Dharamsala.
According to UAE-based newspaper The National News, Shyam Bhatia, a Dubai-based businessman, made Sarfaraz meet Sunil Gavaskar. The young batter asked Bhatia to send his apology to the former India captain.
“Sunil was talking to him about the importance of shot selection,” Shyam Bhatia told the newspaper.
“The two were together for 46 minutes. Then in the fifth Test, he got out to a bad shot. Sunil Gavaskar was miffed with him. I met Sarfaraz Khan again and he said, ‘Sir, please say sorry to Sunil Gavaskar. I made a mistake. I will not repeat it again.”
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