Not the right time for any comparison: Gavaskar regrets his comment on Warne

Legendary Indian cricketer and former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar has regretted his comment on a news channel that Share Warne was not among the greatest spin bowlers in international cricket.

His comment was criticised by a lot of cricket fans on social media. Reacting to the criticism, he posted a message on Instagram in which he said, “In hindsight, that question should not have been asked and I should not have answered as it was not the right time for any comparison or evaluation."

He added, "Warne was one of the greatest players to ever grace the game. Rodney Marsh was also one of the best wicketkeepers. May their souls rest in peace.”

Gavaskar had earlier said that in his opinion Australian spinner Shane Warne cannot be called the greatest among the spin bowlers that world cricket has produced.

Speaking to the news channel India Today, Gavaskar had said, “For me, the Indian spinners and Muttiah Muralitharan were certainly better than Warne. Because look at Warne's record against India. It was pretty ordinary against India.”

He had added, "Because he didn't have much success against Indian players, who are very good players of spin bowling, I don't think I would call him the greatest. I think Muttiah Muralitharan with the success that he had against India would rank over him in my book."

Gavaskar had also questioned Warne’s lifestyle which could have triggered a possible heart attack, the only known reason for his death. His comment was taken very seriously by the cricket fraternity and fans who called it insensitive.