Sunil Gavaskar: Dilip Sardesai, Farokh Engineer should be honoured with

Sunil Gavaskar

India's batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has urged the BCCI to posthumously honour former batting stalwart Dilip Sardesai with the CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award.

He also wants to see India's erstwhile wicketkeeper-batsman Farokh Engineer get the honour which he keeps getting passed over for.

"What would also be fitting if players like the late Dilip Sardesai and Farokh Engineer were given the CK Nayudu Award too. It's a surprise that these wonderful cricketers haven't won the award for their contribution to Indian cricket. The late Dilip Sardesai showed us how to tackle the West Indian pace battery with his immaculate technique and incredible self-confidence.

"On the return from that tour when the team was felicitated before a huge crowd at the Brabourne Stadium the then chairman of the Indian selection committee and India's supreme technician and legend Vijay Merchant called him the Renaissance Man of Indian Cricket. For him (Sardesai) to get the award posthumously would indicate that Indian cricket does not forget its yesteryear heroes whose legacy has kept the interest in the game alive and the current generation is reaping the benefits of it," Gavaskar wrote in his fortnightly column which appeared in Mid-day today.

Sardesai was India's hero of the 1971 win over the West Indies with 642 runs while Gavaskar emerged the find of the tour with 774 runs in his debut series.

mid-day believes the reason for not giving Engineer the CK Nayudu award is because he received a special award from the BCCI in 2014.

Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates