Former Indian pacer Karsan Ghavri has opened up about the rare side of Sunil Gavaskar that the cricket world hardly ever gets to hear. Ghavri recalled how Sunil Gavaskar could bend situations to his will, sometimes even going against the flow of the Indian cricket team.
In the 1970s, Indian cricket was searching for an identity on the world stage, and that’s when Gavaskar emerged as the face of boldness. The Little Master was short in stature but towering in courage, and he carried the team’s hopes every time he walked out to bat.
Karsan Ghavri reveals the untold side of Sunil Gavaskar
He faced fearsome fast bowlers from the West Indies, Australia, and England without a helmet and became a symbol of bravery. Recently, Ghavri recalled one of the most famous and controversial moments in his career came at the 1975 World Cup.
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In India’s opening match against England, the former Indian captain shocked everyone by playing an unusually slow innings, scoring just 36 runs from 174 balls in a 60-over game. Fans were left frustrated, teammates were bewildered, and critics couldn’t stop slamming the young batter.
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But Gavaskar never explained himself, as it wasn’t about entertaining the crowd, but it was about sticking to his method, as mentioned by his former teammate. However, the legendary batter went on to break record after record, becoming the first player to score 10,000 Test runs.
He wouldn’t listen to anyone: Karsan Ghavri
Karsan Ghavri told Vickey Lalwani on his YouTube channel, “We, as Indian cricketers, did not know how to play one-day cricket. In the first match, England scored 334, but when we came to bat, Sunil played out all 60 overs in that particular match. So many times, messages were sent, asking him to either accelerate or get out, trying to pick up the pace.
But Sunil Gavaskar was Sunil Gavaskar in the 1970s. He wouldn’t listen to anyone. He just played out Tony Grieg, Geoff Arnold, Chris Old, and Bob Willis. The reason he gave after the match was, ‘I was facing these guys, practicing against them for the Test matches in the future.’ There was turmoil in the dressing room. When our manager asked him, Gavaskar said, ‘Leave me alone.’
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When Sunil Gavaskar put batting above the Prime Minister
Ghavri also recalled a famous incident when Gavaskar refused to meet then Indian Prime Minister Morarji Desai during a Test match against Australia at Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla. On that day, India was set to bat first, and Gavaskar was already padded up in the dressing room.
Just then, the former prime minister arrived at the stadium to meet both teams. Since Morarji Desai came a little late, the introductions were arranged after the toss, just as Gavaskar was preparing to walk out and open the innings for India, and he was concentrating.
Ghavri recalled, “Everybody went out, but Sunil said, ‘I am not coming.’ He said, ‘Let me concentrate. My batting is important for me and my team.’ They left him alone.”
Sunil Gavaskar could get away with murder!!
Gavaskar stayed back in the dressing room, as he was not ready to break his concentration even for a few minutes that could affect his batting. Later, the former prime minister had especially come to the Indian dressing room to meet Gavaskar.
Ghavri added, “Sunil batted till tea and scored some runs also. At the end of the day’s play, we didn’t know that the PM had come to the dressing room only to meet Gavaskar. This is how Sunil Gavaskar, in his prime, right from 1971 to 1987, was always a champion. He could get away with murder.”
