When Gavaskar's gift’ moved Eddie Barlow to tears

The reason Sunil Gavaskar is respected the world over is not just because he is a legendary cricketer-turned famous commentator. The 75-year-old is a fine human being too.
Recently, Qamar Ahmed, a veteran Pakistani cricket journalist, who has also played first-class cricket, came out with a nostalgia piece that revealed how Gavaskar came out with a gesture that moved Eddie Barlow, a former South Africa allrounder, who played 30 Tests between 1961 and 1970, to tears.
"Gestures, be it on a grand scale or of a smaller nature leave a huge and an everlasting impact. Such moments, when experienced first-hand, have their own indelible mark and are difficult to erase from the mirror of your mind," Ahmed wrote, before narrating the incident.
Back in the summer of 1988, almost a year after Gavaskar had retired, Ahmed was invited by famous cricket writer and commentator Tony Cozier to turn out for the West Indies media team against their English counterparts at the Hunslet Cricket Club in in the suburbs of Leeds in Yorkshire, near Headingley, a Test venue in England.
After picking Gavaskar up from his friend's house in London, Ahmed and Gavaskar drove to Leeds for a three-hour journey. By the time they reached, the match had already started. Cozier, who was batting in the middle with Reg Scarlett, a former West Indies cricketer, signalled to Ahmed to send Gavaskar in at the fall of a wicket. Barlow, who played for South Africa at the time of apartheid and was playing for Derbyshire at that time, was bowling then for the English media as a guest player. After Cozier got out, Gavaskar walked in to face Barlow, now in full flow.
Describing his experience of batting with Gavaskar, Ahmed said, "It was a huge experience to see the maestro taking on Barlow, even hitting him for a straight six and carving the field with beautiful shots all around. Excited as I was, I ventured to tell him that the way he was middling the ball reminded me of Hanif Mohammed. He turned around and said 'Hanif Mohammad was a great batsman.' Which also reminds me that the great England off-spinner Jim Laker was one of the umpires casting an admiring eye as Gavaskar unleashed his drives and cuts."
Ahmed then described Gavaskar's gesture post the match, which left him stunned in admiration of the Indian great.
"But then came the crunch as the match ended. While changing from white flannels to get ready to drive back, Gavaskar pulled out his Indian Test team sweater and told me: 'Qamar, I'm going to make a small gesture of goodwill' and he told Barlow, 'Eddie we never played against each other at the highest level, because your country didn't play against non-white nations and that was unfortunate. So, now that we have played against each other for the first time, here is the gift of an Indian sweater for you'."
Naturally, Barlow broke down at Gavaskar's surprising gesture. "As he handed over the sweater to him, Barlow couldn't control his emotions as tears flowed from his eyes responding to this memorable gesture, which he must've carried with him all his life till he left for his eternal abode. For me, a moment to savour for the rest of my life."
Barlow died at the age of 65 on December 30, 2005.