The IPL has been a huge plus in lessening the animosity between players: Sunil Gavaskar
In cricket, rivalry plays a huge role in the teams competing against each other to bring out the best in them. However, former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar believes there is enough space for sportsmanship in the game.
He feels if an opposition player scores a fifty or a century, the fielding team must congratulate the player, and not just pretend to be tough. Having himself played cricket in the 70s and 80s, Sunil Gavaskar has seen a massive dip in the friendliness between teams over the years.
Thus, the 71-year-old has been pleased with how the Indian Premier League (IPL) has managed to reduce the animosity between players. Cricketers from different countries having different cultures come together and share a dressing room. This has only improved the camaraderie between them and established mutual respect.
"What does it take to applaud a fifty or a century? Does it make you that tougher? Achievement is an achievement, you should applaud it. The fraternisation that used to take place between teams has lessened, having said that, the IPL has been a huge plus in lessening the animosity between players," Sunil Gavaskar told Ravichandran Ashwin on the latter's YouTube channel
"Before the IPL, the animosity between players used to very high, you now have different players from different countries sharing the same dressing room. That has been the big change," he further added
We used to be at each other's throats, but only while playing cricket: Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar stated that although the Indian team during his playing days were highly competitive on the field, they used to be great friends with the opposition off it. Be it any opposition, players from both teams used to spend time with each other at the end of the day.
"I know people tend to romanticize the old days and stuff like that, but we had a situation where a batting team would always take a break at the end of the day to take drinks to the fielding team's dressing room. You used to be at each other's throats while playing cricket, but in the evening, you would get to know players from the other team," Sunil Gavaskar revealed.
Sunil Gavaskar feels showing mutual admiration is the true hallmark of great teams and players need to have that trait in them.