Gavaskar is a genius, Kapil says

Dubai: Former India captain Kapil Dev, who presented the Hall of Fame cap to Sunil Gavaskar, feels Gavaskar is a genius who richly deserves the award.

"I feel very happy when one of your colleagues gets such a big award. You feel very proud and happy. It is good to find him among the Hall of Fame, but I feel it should not have taken that long to reach him," said Dev, who had played under Gavaskar's captaincy.

When asked how Gavaskar compares with other greats, he said: "It is very difficult to compare. Different eras have totally different players.

"He played against genuine quick bowling, but that does not mean today's batsmen are not playing quickies. What makes him special is that in those days there weren't so many facilities. You did not have electronic technology which guides you on how to do and what to do. He had to go out and adjust himself to the genuine quick bowlers.

"Why I rate him very high is because when he was growing up he never ever faced anybody who can bowl more than medium pace. It was his biggest achievement.

Really great

"How he managed his mental status and how he managed to play against real quickies when he had never practiced against any good fast bowlers is something really great. Not only that, he even went on to score over 10,000 runs and hit 30-odd centuries without a helmet. Based on all these I have to say he is a genius."

He refused to comment on India's debacle in Australia but said: "The bottom line is you don't need big names, what you need is a big commitment."