Former Indian captain and a legend of the game Sunil Gavaskar on Tuesday recalled the 1982/83 series in Pakistan where Indians were outsmarted by the deceptive deliveries from Pakistan skipper Imran Khan. India had lost the six-Test series 0-3 and Imran was the highest wicket-taker with 40 scalps.
Gavaskar explained that the visitors were undone by the manner in which the old ball swung. He admitted that nobody had then seen or heard about the reverse swing until the series in Pakistan.
"In 1982-83 when India toured Pakistan and the way Imran Khan bowled and picked up 40 odd wickets in the series it was tough," said Gavaskar in a chat on Youtube with former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja.
"Every spell Imran and Sarfaraz (Sarfaraz Nawaz) bowled was testing. In those days nobody had heard about or seen reverse swing. The new ball wasn't a problem but the way the ball swung post lunch was difficult to face," he said.
Gavaskar then admitted that it was reverse swing that made conditions difficult for India in New Zealand Test series where all-rounder Richard Hadlee dominated with the ball.
"Facing Richard Hadlee's pace and swing in those conditions was very testing. The toughest test I would say was facing Hadlee in the three Tests in New Zealand in 1981," he added.
