Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar criticised over questionable Shane Warne call
Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar is under fire over comments made regarding whether Shane Warne was the game's greatest ever spinner following the Aussie icon's death.
Gavaskar was one of a number of former players to pay tribute to Warne after his death on holiday in Thailand over the weekend.
While the former Indian captain had plenty of kind words about the Australian, he pushed back when asked if Warne was the greatest ever spinner.
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"No, I wouldn't say that no. For me the Indian spinners and Muttiah Muralitharan were better than Shane Warne," he told India Today.
Warne is widely considered to be the greatest ever spinner despite being second on the Test wickets list AP
"Look at Shane Warne's record against India, it was pretty ordinary.
"In India, he got five wickets only once in Nagpur, and that too because Zaheer Khan swung wildly against him to give him a five-for. Because he did not have much success against Indian players who were very good players of spin, I don't think I would call him the greatest.
"Muttiah Muralitharan with a greater success he had against India, I would rank him over Warne in my book."
While the greatest spinner debate is a valid conversation, the timing of Gavaskar's call was questioned.
Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan are the top two names on cricket's Test wicket-taking list Getty
"Honestly, Sunny, it's not the time ... could have just sidestepped it," British journalist Jack Mendel wrote on Twitter. "The body isn't even cold yet".
That comment was just one among many that found Gavaskar's timing distasteful.
Both Warne and Muralitharan struggled in Indian conditions throughout their careers, despite their prodigious wicket-taking abilities elsewhere in the world.
The Australian finished with 34 wickets in the nine Tests he played in India, with those coming at an unflattering average of 43.11. Muralitharan did not fare much better, grabbing 40 wickets in 11 Tests played in India at an average of 45.45.
Gavaskar's call was more head-scratching as it came after he admitted Warne's leg spin was the toughest art to master as a bowler.
"He mastered a craft which is so difficult to master, which is wrist spin," he said.
"To pick 700-plus wickets like he did in Test cricket plus hundreds more in one-day cricket just tells you how good a bowler he was.
"Finger spin is a lot easier, you have a lot more control over what you want to bowl, but leg spin or wrist spin is very, very tough.
"For him to have bowled the way he did, the way he seemed to create magic, the way he seemed to be able to deliver magic deliveries at will was the reason why he was revered all over the world."
Gavaskar said the world had lost two giants of the game in Warne and Rod Marsh over the weekend Getty
Gavaskar opened up on the moment he found out about Warne's death, saying a text message from his son had left him stumped.
"A big shock, a real big shock because who expects anybody to pass at the age of 52," he said.
"It was a huge shock, and my son actually sent me a message saying, 'Is it true?', and I didn't know how to respond.
"Within 24 hours the cricket world has lost two giants of the game, not just Australian cricket, but the cricket world. This is unbelievable. It's hard to come to grips with."
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