Cricketing greats Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar never batted alongside each other for India but now there is the possibility of the two playing golf together in Dubai.
That is because Gavaskar has been awarded honorary life membership at The Els Club at Dubai Sports City, something bestowed on Tendulkar when he was in Dubai as part of the Mumbai Indians coaching staff during the recent Pepsi Indian Premier League.
Gavaskar, the first player in history to top 10,000 Test runs and an ICC Cricket World Cup winner in 1983, received the honour from Dubai Sports City Partner Abdulrahman Falaknaz and Dubai Sports City President Khalid Al Zarooni at a private ceremony at The Els Club.
Reflecting on the possibility of linking up with Tendulkar on the Els greens, Gavaskar said: “We actually played once together in Chittagong in Bangladesh and he was pretty serious, as you would expect (and) he hit the ball really well.
“Yes, I think at some stage if we are here in Dubai we will certainly look to play together but I think he has got a head start.
“I believe he has already had some golfing lessons over here at the Butch Harmon School of Golf (at Dubai Sports City) which is a world-famous academy, so I am pretty certain he is going to beat me by a mile.
“The Els Club is a terrific club, named after a great golfer, one of the great names in the history of golf, and so to be given honorary life membership is a great honour as I do not think it has been given to too many people,” he added.
Falaknaz added: “Sunil and I actually have a bit in common as we first met more than 30 years ago in Sharjah when he was captaining a Gavaskar eleven against a (Javed) Miandad eleven.
“It is an honour for us to have Sunil in our records (as an honorary life member) here at The Els Club at Dubai Sports City. First there was Tendulkar and now there is Gavaskar.”
Gavaskar did admit that he had never previously been bitten by the golf bug but said there was plenty at The Els Club for him to enjoy away from the action.
“When I played cricket I thought I had to work very hard for my centuries but in golf I find you can get a century just like that,” he joked. “I do not like easy centuries but maybe now I have got this membership I will try to play a bit and get better.
“I have seen that (the facilities are excellent) and I think that is something that will appeal to me. Maybe at my age, sitting in The Clubhouse and enjoying the ambience is the thing to do.
“I am honoured and really looking forward to using the facilities here,” he added.
Sunil Gavaskar is just the latest star name in the recent past to take time out at The Els Club at Dubai Sports City.
Before Sachin Tendulkar’s appearances came Hollywood superstar Will Smith, who also took lessons at the Butch Harmon School of Golf, and former world number one golfer Rory McIlroy is a regular visitor.
General Manager of The Els Club Chris Brown said: “We are delighted that Sunil Gavaskar has accepted honorary life membership of The Els Club and we look forward to welcoming him back whenever he is in Dubai."
