aloof of late. SMG was actually the first Bharat Ratna of Indian cricket cos of the SCALE of his achievements in a tougher cricket era and also when the Imperial Cricket Conference (not ICC as we know it now) ran roughshod on Asian teams.SMG proved how astute he was as a captain when he led India unbeaten to the '85 B&H World Championship in OZ

P Subramani
on March 9, 2012, 11:50 GMT

I saw that Test match in Bangalore between India and Pakistan in Feb 1987 which was to be Sunil Gavaskar;s swan song. His final innings of 96 on a minefield could not get India to cross the line but the greatness of that innings reduced the pain of knowing that I would not see Gavaskar in Tests again.So when he played in the centenary Test at Lord's later that year,it was very satisfying. And when he was given not out in the first innings to Malcolm Marshall ( when I think he was) it gave me great joy.Then the double century. Sunny made his debit in' 71 and retired 16 years later in '87.Dravid too after that memorable 95 at Lords in the summer of 96 has given us the same pleasure for nearly two decades. Given his gentlemanly and humble personality, Rahul Dravid has come to belong to most Indian homes with a love for cricket.He has a big role to play now as Indian cricket which needs to groom Pujara both as replacement and future captain. Certainly not Kohli. Thank you Mr Dravid.

Yash
on