Sunil Gavaskar

Lore & Background

Gavaskar was born in Bombay into a middle-class Marathi family and attended St. Xavier's High School, where he was named India's Best Schoolboy Cricketer in 1966. He made his first-class debut in 1966–67 but did not play a Ranji Trophy match until the 1968–69 season. After a duck on debut, he responded with a century against Rajasthan and two more consecutive centuries, earning selection for the 1970–71 tour of the West Indies. He made his Test debut in the second Test, scoring 65 and 67 not out to help India win its first-ever Test against the West Indies. In the fifth Test, he scored 124 and 220, becoming the second player after Doug Walters to score a century and double century in the same match, and the first Indian to make four centuries in a series. His 774 runs at 154.80 remain the most runs scored in a debut series by any batsman.

Reader's Guide

Gavaskar's significance lies in his pioneering role as India's first great opening batsman and the first to surpass 10,000 Test runs. He was widely admired for his technique against fast bowling, particularly against the West Indies, against whom he averaged 65.45. However, most of his centuries against that team came when their four-pronged fast attack were not playing together. His captaincy was considered one of the first attacking ones, leading India to win the 1984 Asia Cup and the 1985 World Championship of Cricket. There were multiple exchanges of captaincy between Gavaskar and Kapil Dev, including one just six months before Kapil led India to victory at the 1983 Cricket World Cup. Gavaskar received the Arjuna Award, the Padma Bhushan, and was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2009. In 2012, he was awarded the C. K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honour the BCCI can bestow on a former player.

Did You Know?

• Gavaskar was the first batsman to pass 10,000 runs in Test cricket.
• He scored 774 runs at 154.80 in his debut series, the most by any batsman in a debut series.
• He was the second player after Doug Walters to score a century and double century in the same Test match.
• A calypso song titled 'Gavaskar Calypso' was written in his honour by Trinidad singer Lord Relator.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"After the match in which Kohli powers India into the World T20 semi-final, quoted on sports.ndtv, "Virat Kohli Proves His Era Has Begun, After Guiding India Into World T20 Semifinals", March 27, 2016." — Sunil Gavaskar "MS Dhoni knew what to do. His plans showed that he was at the top of his game. Also, the commitment of the players was there to see as they tried to get India out of a sticky situation." — Sunil Gavaskar "Sunil Gavaskar, "Kumar Sangakkara's Retirement Will Hit Sri Lanka Hard, Says Sunil Gavaskar", August 24, 2015." — Sunil Gavaskar