The little Master `retires hurt’

Gavaskar made some controversial observations while commenting on India’s loss to Zimbabwe. In his reply, Dungarpur not only defended the Indian team but also launched a stunning attack on the maestro. The fact that the chief of the board slammed one of the greatest cricketers of all time in a foreign land at the biggest congregation of cricketers, past and present, was perceived a supremeaffront.

Gavaskar reiterated to The Indian Express that he was through with Indian cricket and would not like to delve further into the issue. He said he has quit as director of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) of BCCI.

He continues to be on the BCCI technical committee, “but then that is temporary…” he said, giving an indication that once the term of the technical committee expires in less than two months time, the end of his partnership with the BCCI will be total.

Incidentally, NCA is Dungarpur’s brainchild and is slated to do for India what the Australian Cricket Academy has been doing. A sum of Rs 3 crore has been earmarked for the project, which has as its brains trust Kapil Dev, Brijesh Patel and BCCI bigwigs like Jagmohan Dalmiya, Jaywant Lele, Jyoti Bajpayee, Prof Ratnakar Shetty, Kishen Rungta, besides Dungarpur.

The verbal duel began when Gavaskar said on air during the World Cup that instructions had gone from the dressing room to the Indian batsmen in the middle to finish thematch in the penultimate over against Zimbabwe.

Gavaskar wanted to know who sent the instructions and believed an enquiry would be in order.

(The defeat, the ire of Indian people and the fact that the cricketing world was being rocked by allegations of betting and match-fixing, all added up to raise the decibel level of Gavaskar’s statements.)

A passing reference by Gavaskar about the incident in the latest issue of Outlook, and his statement at Nagpur on Sunday that he is “not cut out for administration” throws more light on the controversy and gives an indication that the master’s sanyaas from administration is close to finish.

Gavaskar went on record to say: “I was told this Zimbabwe bit (to expedite the finish) by Brijesh Patel — manager for the World Cup — in Dungarpur’s presence. But I am sure of one thing. Turning 50, I am not going to be bothered by anything happening to Indian cricket. I will be content just doing my job. Nobody takes criticism thesedays.”

Dungarpur sought to end the war of words in the media: “The BCCI is a big family and any big family is bound to have difference of opinion. I have the highest regard for Sunil and have always admired him. As far as I am concerned the matter is dead. I have no problems with him.”

While Dungarpur may like to believe that the matter is dead, it is doubtful if the issue will be given a hasty burial.

Says Gavaskar’s close friend and former Mumbai skipper Milind Rege: “If Sunny has indeed quit, then it’s entirely Indian cricket’s loss. Somebody in the BCCI should sit up and take notice why cricketing greats like Sunny prefer staying away from the board.”