Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], September 19 (ANI): Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar reflected on how two dropped catches by former West Indies great Sir Garfield Sobers gave his international career a second chance, drawing a connection between those moments and the work of Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Hospital supporting free heart surgeries for children born with congenital heart defects.
Speaking at the event 'An Evening with Legends: Compassion in Action' in Bengaluru on Saturday, Gavaskar said Sobers' generosity and the opportunities he received early in his career had shaped his perspective on giving others a second chance.
"So that generosity of Sir Garfield Sobers gave my cricketing career an almost vertical take-off.
So when I got this opportunity to be involved with the Sai Sanjeevani Hospitals, where children born with congenital heart defects are given totally free-of-cost surgeries and they get a second life.
They get a second life where they can be contributing citizens of our country," Gavaskar said.
Recalling his debut Test against the West Indies, Gavaskar said he was batting on 12 when he edged a delivery to slip, where Sobers dropped what appeared to be a straightforward catch.
The reprieve let him keep batting and score his first Test half-century, helping him retain his place for the next match.
Gavaskar said he received another reprieve in the following Test, when Sobers dropped a more difficult chance at slip.
"In those days you barely got one or two opportunities, and if you didn't grab them, you were out," he said, recalling the significance of those moments in the early stages of his career.
The former India captain said the experience resonated with the work of Sai Sanjeevani Hospitals, where children from financially challenged backgrounds receive heart surgeries without being charged.
"That second chance is....
