How a simple piece of advice from Gavaskar helped Inzamam overcome rough patch

Tags: India, Pakistan, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Sunil Manohar Gavaskar

Published on: Jul 14, 2020

Pakistan legend Inzamam-ul-Haq recently revealed how former India opener Sunil Gavaskar’s advice enabled him to overcome a tough phase in his career. Inzamam went on his first tour to England following a memorable 1992 World Cup in Australia. However, he was facing constant troubles with short-pitched deliveries.

“I went to England after 1992 World Cup at the back of a tremendous performance in the mega event. It was my first-ever tour to England. I didn’t have any idea as how should I play on those pitches. I was going through a bad patch as I was unable to play short-pitched deliveries,’’ Inzamam said in his YouTube channel.

He added that he had a word with Gavaskar during a charity match in England, and that helped him in a big way. Both Inzamam and Gavaskar were part of that game, and Inzamam took the opportunity to sought out help. “It was somewhere half of our season that I met him at a charity match in England. We both had gone to play that match. And I asked him ‘Sunil bhai I’m facing problems to play short-pitched balls, what should I do’?

“As great are the ways of the great, he told me to do only one little thing, that is, ‘don’t think about short-pitched balls or bouncers while batting because the moment you’ll think about them you’ll get trapped’. He told me that when the bowler would deliver the ball you would automatically understand; so don’t get worried about that,” he added

Inzamam admitted that he paid complete heed to the Indian legend’s advice, and claimed that he did not face any issues against the short ball for the rest of his career. “While in nets, I started practicing the way he told me. I strengthened my mind, telling myself not to think about that (short balls). The weakness was removed. And from 1992 till the time I retired, I never faced that problem again,” he further said.

Inzamam, who finished a glorious career with 8,830 Test runs and 11,739 runs in ODIs, regrets not watching Gavaskar bat in his prime. “I wish I would’ve seen him live while he was batting,” he lamented.

--By A Cricket Correspondent

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