Without a shadow of doubt Sunil Gavaskar, can be considered as India's first world class sportsman.  Prior to Gavaskar's entry on the sports scene,  many Indian sportsmen earned international reputation, but to be fair none of them belonged to a category who could be  classified  as "Word Class" or "World Beater".  With Sunil Gavaskar's arrival on the international scene, India was on the sporting map of the world as a World Beater.

Batting Average of 50+ in Test Career:- In today's world when even the smallest of achievements are hyped to extraordinary levels by the media, Gavaskar was a class apart.  Gavaskar finished his career with a Test average of 51.12, when an average of 50+ was a rarity, those days considering the quality of bowling attack those days which had the fearsome quartet of Marshal & Co for West Indies, Lillees, Handlees, Imran Khans for their respective countries to name a few of them.  If that was not enough India were then the weakest team in the world which meant Gavaskar had to face stronger bowling attacks throughout his career and therefore there were no easy runs.

Batting record against the ferocious West Indies Pacers:- There was a time when the entire world was afraid of the ferocious pace quartet of Holding, Roberts, Marshall & Garner.  Tail enders accross the world would rather prefer to get out to them than face them.  Bishen Singh Bedi even declared Indian innings closed in a Test match in Sabina Park against West Indies in 1976,  after losing 5 wickets for 97 runs for the fear of his players lives.  Against the same  opposition Gavaskar scored 2749 Test Runs at an average of 65.45 with 13 Centuries, at a time  when even  a single century against them by any other batsman was considered to be a monumental achievement.  While all the batsman across the world feared West Indian bowlers, West Indian bowlers feared Gavaskar as they bore the brunt of his brilliance.

Gavaskar's record against West Indies in West Indies: Gavaskar's record against West Indies on their soil was even better having scored 1404 runs at an average of 70.20.  During those days any batsman who had half of that average would have felt proud of what he has done.

Technical Brilliance:- Gavaskar was the only batsman of his era, who was tehnically correct.  Only 2 other cricketers were regarded for technical perfection i.e. Sachin Tendulkar & Rahul Dravid.  Manjrekar too was rated high techcially but finished his career with disastrous results. While being technically correct, Gavaskar had the capacity to tear any attack in the World on a given day.  At one point of time he held the record for the fastest century by an Indian in Tests against the West Indies in 1984 at Feroz Shah Kotla when he raced to a century in just 94 balls.

Players Rights:- Though he was a great player he always had time for others and try to understand the pain of others.  He fought for players rights and fought with the board on numerous occasions.

Advertisements:- He was the first cricketer who saw  earning opportunities outside cricket.  He was the first to appear in ads.  His entry inspired future generation of  superstars like  Sachin Tendulkar.

Respect for the Game:- Whenever Gavaskar knew he was out, he simply walked way, never waiting for the umpires decision.  In his last ever Test Innings Gavaskar walked off the field, when he knew he was out without waiting for the umpires decision.  Gavaskar was dismissed on 96 on the verge of a century and India needing  40  runs from a famous series victory against Pakistan.  Gavaskar's sportsmanship saw India losing the series with Gavaskar himself missing on  a farewell century.

Sense of Timing:- Whatever Gavaskar did he did it perfectly.  He timed his retirement into perfection in 1987 at the peak of his career.  He scored a brilliant 96 in his last Test innings against Pakistan in 1987 on a treacherous pitch when other bastmen were struggling to reach double figures, and then scored  and a brilliant unbeaten century in his penultimate one dayer.  Similarly he quit captaincy on a high after leading India to triumph in 1985 World Series Championship.

Sunil Gavaskar  will always be remembered as the one who always set the benchmark both on and off the field.

Regards

Satish