Sunil Gavaskar links cricket career reprieves to free pediatric heart surgeries

Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has drawn a parallel between his early career opportunities and the life-saving work of Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Hospital. Speaking at the ‘An Evening with Legends: Compassion in Action’ event in Bengaluru, Gavaskar reflected on how two dropped catches by West Indies great Sir Garfield Sobers provided him with a second chance in international cricket.

Gavaskar recalled his debut Test against the West Indies, noting that Sobers dropped a straightforward catch when he was batting on 12, allowing him to reach his first Test half-century. A second reprieve occurred in the following Test when Sobers dropped a more difficult chance at slip. Gavaskar stated that this generosity from Sobers allowed his cricketing career to achieve an ‘almost vertical take-off’.

He connected these personal reprieves to the mission of the Sai Sanjeevani Hospitals, which provides free-of-cost heart surgeries to children born with congenital heart defects. Gavaskar noted that these surgeries grant children a ‘second life’ where they can become contributing citizens of their country.