Sunil Gavaskar calls for more humour in cricket

Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has called upon cricket administrators not to tinker around with the game and to keep it simple.

"One of the things that administrators must remember is that there should not be too many changes in the rules, because that leads to confusion. The success of football, tennis and golf is because the rules are very easy to understand," Gavaskar said yesterday while delivering the inaugural MAK Pataudi Memorial Lecture organised by the Indian cricket board.

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar delivers the inaugural Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi Memorial Lecture in Chennai yesterday. pic/Ron Gaunt/ BCCI/Sportzpic

Gavaskar also called for more fun in the game and emphasised Pataudi's great sense of humour while regaling the audience with examples of the former captain's pranks on his teammates. "The fun aspect is something that we could do more with in modern-day cricket," he said.

Gavaskar also stressed on the importance of the traditional format of the game and how it should be fair for all. "You need to have pitches with balance rather than pitches that are one-sided. Test cricket is not only a test of skill or technique, but a test of your courage and your temperament. And I have always believed that it is temperament which separates the men from the boys," said Gavaskar.

India and Australia kick off the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series here tomorrow and Gavaskar used the lecture to wish the teams well: "I wish both the teams luck for the series, a little bit more luck to the Indians, because the Indians need it a little more. When the batsman scores a 50 or a 100 let there be a smile.

When a bowler takes a wicket, let there be a smile."u00a0

Pataudi family absent at lecture
Sharmila Tagore was unable to attend the inaugural Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi Memorial lecture yesterday as she was hospitalised due to food poisoning.

"I am really very sad that I couldn't make it to Chennai for the inaugural lecture. I am suffering from a severe bout of food poisoning and it became impossible for me to attend the event. I fell so ill that I have been admitted to a local nursing home," the veteran actor and wife of late MAK Pataudi, told PTI yesterday. She said that son Saif and daughters Soha and Saba were also busy with other commitments and so were unable to attend the lecture.u00a0