Sunil Gavaskar names India legend who could have fetched similar amount to Rishabh Pant's ₹27 crore in IPL auction

Former India opener Sunil Gavaskar believes Farokh Engineer can fetch the same amount as Rishabh Pant if he entered the IPL auction. Gavaskar, who represented India in 125 Tests, was on air on Sony Sports when he made the comment.

Engineer, a former wicketkeeper-batter, plied his trade for the Indian cricket team from 1961 to 1975, featuring in 46 Tests and five ODIs. He had a stand named after him and West Indies legend Clive Lloyd at Old Trafford ahead of the ongoing Test between England and India.

The duo were honored for their contribution to Lanxashire cricket. Having joined the county in 1968, Engineer played for them until 1976. They had gone on to become a highly successful limited-overs side, clinching the 50-over cup four times and winning the 40-over tournament on two occasions.

Speaking on air during the ongoing Manchester Test, Gavaskar said on Sony Sports:

"How much did Rishabh Pant go for? I think he'd go for something similar."

27-year-old Rishabh Pant had broken the IPL auction record by becoming the costliest player in the tournament's history, garnering ₹27 crore from the Lucknow Super Giants. Shreyas Iyer had fetched ₹26.75 crore in the same event from the Punjab Kings.

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"It is a clear injury" - Sunil Gavaskar on Rishabh Pant's swollen toe

Rishabh Pant. (Image Credits: Getty)

Meanwhile, during a discussion on Sony Sports, Gavaskar opined on Pant's toe injury during the Manchester Test, claiming that Team India deserved a like-for-like substitute. He said, as quoted by The Indian Express:

"I’ve always felt that you are giving a like-for-like substitute for incompetence. If you are not good enough to play short-pitched bowling, don’t play Test cricket; go and play tennis or golf. You are giving a like-for-like substitute for somebody who can’t play the short ball and gets hit. Here, it is a clear injury (Pant); there has to be a substitute. I want some sort of committee appointed to take a call on this. There is a cricket committee, ICC has a cricket committee, but at the moment that’s headed by Sourav Ganguly, the ICC chairman is Jay Shah, and the ICC CEO is Sanjog Gupta"

Team India are currently chasing the game as the hosts have taken a lead. At the time of writing, Joe Root had completed his ton and England were 409/4 in 96 overs in reply to the tourists' first-innings total of 358.

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Edited by Sankalp Srivastava