While the entire cricketing fraternity was showering rich accolades on Adam
Gilchrist, cricket lovers around the world were shocked by his decision to quit international cricket . The Adelaide Oval looked like an arena where he would run the show, that he exhibited for nearly a decade one last time.

Undoubtedly, Adam Gilchrist was the most breathtaking cricketer of his generation combining freedom to play strokes and entertainment to the public matched by very few at the highest level. Irrespective of the clothing Adam Gilchrist wore he had a very uncomplicated “hit the ball” approach. It’s a sight to cherish Gilchrist in his elements with that tremendous bat speed and top handed grip which intimidates the opposition to submission with an uncanny ability to hit the good balls, with steady head and sublime balance. In slog overs he abandons the textbook, whirling his bat like a gladiator, caring only for the scoreboard and never his average Amidst the breed of wicket keeper batsman Gilchirst clearly is a run away success with the ability to change the complexion of the game and also evoke intimidation .Alternately, he changed the way the wicketkeeper are looked at , getting the side off to flier and putting more pressure on the bowling attacks and keep wickets.

If Sanath Jayasuriya revolutionized batting at the top of the order in ODIs ,Adam just took that to a different level, and made indelible mark in the longer version coming in at number 7 .
It was not the amount of runs Gilchrist scored or the records he set behind the stumps but the manner he achieved them that will leave a enduring impression. In simple words, he changed the face of cricket .In the era of the wicketkeeper-batsman, Andy Flower, Alec Stewart, Mark Boucher and, most notably, Kumar Sangakkara have all given their captain lot of options to play with, but none of these has so obviously dictated matches in the way the unparalleled left-hander did.
Scoring at a strike rate of 82 per hundred balls is unprecedented in Test Cricket , achieved by Gilchrist - and none has launched as many as 101 sixes. His range of stroke are beyond imagination , as England were on the receiving end in Perth last winter when he blasted a quite extraordinary 57-ball hundred, just a single delivery outside the world record held since 1986 by Sir Vivian Richards. Unbelievably, he has played his 96 Tests consecutively. Icy reception at the Gabba did not faze him on debut against Pakistan as he took five catches , scored 81, hasn’t missed a single match since then.
Voted Australia's greatest one-day cricketer an year ago and, as if to acknowledge that, he sent a good Sri Lankans on leather hunt at the World Cup final last April with a vintage display of stroke-making. The 149 he made is the highest score in a final and none who saw the innings will ever quite be able to believe its dazzling display of class and power.
More importantly, he was a gentleman who respected his opponents and the game in equal measure. He clearly understood its origin and his willingness to walk if he knew he was out was admirable
Disadvantaged by his relatively tall stature for a pure wicket-keeper Gilchrist's skills as a wicket-keeper are sometimes questioned .Keeping wickets to Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath is a tribute to his skill behind the wicket, managing many stumpings, missing few catching chances, and letting through few byes.as he went past Healy's 395 dismissals in 26 fewer matches
The chasm will be immeasurable and may haunt the game. For the game to lose both him and Warne in the space of a year is a dreadful blow. Warne is a maverick; Gilchrist was revolutionary. Both though have been such special cricketers that it is hard to get these in a long long time to come







One more pearl has gone from the Australian string