For someone who has hung up his boots exactly 31 years ago, how much does a Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)’s C.K. Nayudu Award for lifetime achievement, mean?
There could be varied answers to this, but for Anshuman Gaekwad, this is the recognition of hard work.
Read: I thought dad’s time had passed, says Roy junior
The former India player and erstwhile national coach, who was on Saturday, conferred with the prestigious award for 2017-2018, indicates it has come at the right time. “I don’t think (the award has come much later than expected). There may be so many players who have done better than me, and still have not got recognition,” Gaekwad tells Sportstar.
Having featured in 40 Tests and 15 ODIs for India, Gaekwad is still involved with the game. After quitting the Baroda Cricket Association role three years back, he is now associated with the BCCI affiliation committee and is also part of the Cricket Players’ Association. “I have been looking at my career, it has been almost 52-53 years now. There has not been a day without cricket. It is good that way,” he says.
The BCCI named the late Pankaj Roy for the lifetime achievement award in the previous cycle of 2016-2017. While Roy’s son, Pranab, believes that his father got a late recognition, Gaekwad disagrees. “It depends on how BCCI looks at it, how the committee thinks about it. It’s a process. I may say that I could have got it ten years back, but that’s not possible,” he says, adding: “Look, (Padmakar) Shivalkar and Rajinder Goel got it last year, they deserved it.”
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