Little masters, big debate

An ongoing debate among former international cricketers and connoisseurs of the game in Mumbai is about the difference in Sunil Gavaskar's and Sachin Tendulkar's style of play. Makarand Waigankar in the Hindu believes it is unfair to conclude that one style is necessarily better than the other, for the craft and technique has to be continually perfected to suit the era and the kind of cricket that is played.

If Gavaskar was a run machine, Tendulkar used the bat like an AK-47. When former Mumbai Test players saw Tendulkar play a Test at 15, they were all convinced that because of his peculiar bottom hand grip he would be sorted out by professional international bowlers. However, Tendulkar was not prepared to be a slave of any technique.