I was taught to respect umpires' decision very early: Gavaskar

Former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar said on Friday he was taught to respect decisions of umpires very early in his career "but at times due to unavoidable pressures I have reacted negatively for which I still have regrets."

Inaugurating the Board of Control for Cricket in India's two-day 13th all India Umpires' seminar in Mumbai, Gavaskar said players should learn to respect the decisions of umpires so that the game can go on smoothly as cricket is considered to be a gentleman's game.

Gavaskar, who is also one of the leading TV commentators in the world today, said new technology has put umpires under tremendous pressure "but still I think they are doing a very good job out there as they have to be 110 per cent sure of their decisions."

"When you watch replays on TV, you see 95 per cent of the decisions made by the umpires are right and it is human that a few decisions may go the other way due to the tremendous pressure faced by umpires," he added.

The second highest run getter in Test cricket, Gavaskar said he was fortunate to have umpires like Pillo Reporter, MV Gothoskar, PR Panjabi and AM Mamsa when he was playing.

"In fact, during my days players and umpires had a good rapport on and off the field and we would discuss the rules and regulations of the game in detail," he said.

Gavaskar, recipient of the Padma Bhushan and Maharashtra Bhushan awards, praised the BCCI for conducting such seminars, saying they act as a platform for umpires to exchange their views.

"The seminars also help discuss the new rules of the game and give an insight into the problems faced by umpires in the country," he added.

BCCI secretary JY Lele, joint secretary Jyoti Bajpai, Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) joint secretaries Ratnakar Shetty and Mayank Khandwala, vice president Pravin Bharve and international umpires AV Jayprakash, SK Bansal and VK Ramaswamy attended the seminar.

About 180 umpires from all over the country are participating in the seminar.