Gavaskar's arrival was a turning point in Indian cricket: Srinivasan

CHENNAI: Former BCCI chief N Srinivasan on Friday said that the arrival of legendary Sunil Gavaskar was a "turning point" in the rise of Indian cricket. During a panel discussion on golf by Take Solutions in the city, Srinivasan said Indian cricket took a long time to reach where it is now while explaining how golf could eventually grow in the next 10 years in the country.
"Cricket has taken a long time to reach where it has in India.There was a time when no foreign team would come to India. Len Hutton and Don Bradman did not come to India. There was no respect for Indian cricket. Over time, things have changed. The turning point was the arrival of Gavaskar. The contribution he made was he was the first person to really say we can play fast bowlers. The 1983 World Cup win happened. The Indian team is now respected in all conditions. Even in SA, though they landed only two days before this time, their planning was bad... They recovered by third Test," Srinivasan said.
The veteran administrator further added that support for golf would come. "It took India 80-90 years to reach this stage in cricket. Support will come (for golf). That is not far away. Challenge is there but it takes a little time. Ten years from now, you'll see things have changed completely (in golf).
"In such a large country, there are so many talents you might bring them to the fore. Who heard of Mahendra Singh Dhoni? He was in Jharkhand, only when cricket went to all districts he came up. Otherwise, where was he? Talent is there, it will come. I have every hope that in the next few years we will see golf rising and occupying top spots," he added.