Straight Drive

by Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Sunny Gavaskar is the idol of millions the world over. His magic with the bat created several records and won the hearts of as many. Even his severest critics had to concede that he was indeed the Little Master !

Genres: Sports

239 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Sunil Manohar "Sunny" Gavaskar is a former cricketer who played during the 1970s and 1980s for Bombay and India. Widely regarded as one of the greatest opening batsmen in cricket history, Gavaskar set world records during his career for the most Test runs and most Test centuries scored by any batsman. He held the record of 34 Test centuries for almost two decades before it was broken by Sachin Tendulkar in December 2005.
Gavaskar was widely admired for his technique against fast bowling, with a particularly high average of 65.45 against the West Indies, who possessed a four-pronged fast bowling attack regarded as the most vicious in Test history.

Reviews

[Sonali Dabade · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Straight Drive' is not an autobiography, but a collection of some of Sunil Gavaskar's best columns over the years. I knew Sunil Gavaskar doesn't mince his words, but this book, 'Straight Drive' was a mild surprise for me.

Sunil Gavaskar's writing is honest, to-the-point, hilariously analogical, and revealing in ways that are too much for a non-follower of cricket. 'Too much' does not mean that I couldn't go ahead with reading it. It means that as I read the 61 columns (which were compiled for his 61st birthday), I felt I could understand a little bit more about Indian cricket than I already know.

Sunil Gavaskar has clear ideas about what's right and what's not. He knows his stance on every matter - he either supports something with everything he has or vehemently is against it. But if he thinks something is wrong or if someone's behavior is abysmal, he will take them down without a thought. And I loved this about him!

Though I enjoy cricket, I cannot say I follow the sport diligently. For someone like me, the fact that I enjoyed the book tells a lot about the man called Sunny Gavaskar!

[Ashish Vijay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sunil “Sunny” Gavaskar - Widely regarded as one of the greatest Test batsmen and best opening batsmen in Test cricket history , he is equally known for his sound acumen of the game & his unbiased opinions on different issues pertaining to it. To put it upfront - 'Straight Drive' is not an autobiography, but a collection of some of Sunil Gavaskar's best columns over the years. To read his interesting views on different topics is always a pleasure; the same holds true for this book as well. His writing skills are as good as his technique which along with his astute knowledge and incisiveness make this one worth a shot.

[Dipra Lahiri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sunny Gavaskar is a rarity as an Indian sportsman, who writes, and has been writing for more than 40 years. His articles are full of endless (possibly unsolicited) advice to the BCCI, cricketers, and even on occasion the governing federations of other sports. Very prickly when it comes to cricketing equations between India and England or Australia. Being one of India's shrewdest cricketers, he ensures that he doesn't really rub people too hard, while keeping the appearance of being his own man.

[Roopkumar Balachandran · Rating 5 out of 5]

I purchased this as a kindle edition thinking this is the continuation to Sunny days the biography of Sunil Gavaskar but it was not. This book is the collection of articles or sports column written by the littler master from 1985 to 2009.