Gavaskar opens up on his love for T20 cricket & names his favourite player

For the past cricketers especially of the ’50s, 60s, and 70s era, ‘Old is always Gold’. The old here is Test format which they even now enjoy watching the most. Fair enough as they might have their point of views on loving the purest format of cricket and the toughest since it compromises five days.

Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar though differs from this point of view, as he likes the shortest format- T20 cricket. The cricketer-turned commenter’s love for the T20 format is a known fact as he likes the batters and bowlers being more innovative and play fearlessly.

The former legendary cricketer, listed few interesting aspects of the game which he thinks are the best. “I know a lot of people who played around my time, they’re not happy with the T20 format, but I actually love it. I love it for the simple reason that you know it’s a 3-hour game, and you get a result, and you get to see so much action. When somebody plays the switch hit and the reverse sweep, I’m out of my chair because I think those are fabulous and incredible shots, and it takes a lot of skill to be able to hit them for sixes,” Gavaskar said on The Analyst Inside podcast.

Sunil Gavaskar is a fan of T20 cricket and loves the innovations of the batters

During his playing days Gavaskar was seen only as a Test player, although the 50-over format came in 1971, Gavaskar could not quite make an impact and failed to adjust to its tempo. It was not only him, but many cricketers of that era found the going tough since they rarely hit the ball out of the park. Now with T20 cricket at its peak, the legendary cricketer was asked to pick a player whom he would have wished to bat-like.

“AB de Villiers… bat like him, you know 360 degrees, play everything. I mean, just make it look as if you’re having a net. He makes it look so simple. He hits a fair distance, and he is very elegant as well. When he hits some of those shots, I love how his bat’s follow-through goes right over the shoulder. It’s not one of those punches; it’s like a proper shot. I love watching him bat” the former India captain explained.