Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Manohar Gavaskar (Marathi pronunciation: [suniːl ɡaːʋəskəɾ]; born 10 July 1949), is an Indian cricket commentator and former cricketer. He captained the Indian national cricket team while representing India and Mumbai from 1971 to 1987. He was the first batsman to pass 10,000 runs in Test cricket. Gavaskar is acknowledged as one of the greatest opening batsmen of all time.

Gavaskar was widely admired for his technique against fast bowling, with a particularly high average of 65.45 against the West Indies, who possessed a four-pronged fast bowling attack, widely regarded as the most vicious in Test history. However, most of Gavaskar's centuries against West Indies were against the team when their four-pronged attack were not playing together. His captaincy of the Indian team, was considered as one of the first attacking ones, with Indian team winning the 1984 Asia Cup, and the World Championship of Cricket in 1985. At the same time, there were multiple exchanges of captaincy between Gavaskar and Kapil Dev, with one coming just six months before Kapil led India to victory at the 1983 Cricket World Cup. He is also a former Sheriff of Mumbai.

Gavaskar is a recipient of the Indian sports honour of the Arjuna Award and the civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan. He 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 BCCI can bestow on a former player.

Domestic debut

Born in Bombay in a middle class Marathi Family and a student of St Xavier's High School young Sunil Gavaskar was named India's Best Schoolboy Cricketer of the year in 1966 while playing for his school. He scored 246*, 222 and 85 in school cricket in his final year of secondary education before striking a century against the touring London schoolboys. He made his first-class debut for Vazir Sultan Colts XI against an XI from Dungarpur in 1966–67 but remained in Bombay's Ranji Trophy squad for the next two years without playing a match. An alumnus of Bombay's St. Xavier's College, he made his debut in the 1968–69 season against Karnataka but made a duck and was the subject of derisive claims that his selection was due to the presence of his uncle Madhav Mantri, a former Indian Test wicket keeper on Bombay's selection committee. He responded with 114 against Rajasthan in his second match and two other consecutive centuries saw him being selected in the 1970–71 Indian team to tour the West Indies.

Test debut

First test match win in West Indies

After missing the first Test due to nail infection, Gavaskar scored 65 and 67 not out in the second Test in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, hitting the winning runs which gave India its first-ever win over the West Indies. He also became the first Indian to make four centuries in one Test series, the second Indian after Vijay Hazare to score two centuries in the same Test, and the third after Hazare and Polly Umrigar to score centuries in three consecutive innings. He was the first Indian to aggregate more than 700 runs in a series and until date remains the only Indian to do so. This 774 runs at 154.80 also remains the most runs scored in a debut series by any batsman. Trinidad Calypso singer Lord Relator (Willard Harris) wrote a song in Gavaskar's honour, the "Gavaskar Calypso".

England tour

Gavaskar's arrival in England in 1971 for a three-Test series generated substantial publicity in light of his debut series. He was unable to maintain his performance, making only two half-centuries. He was involved in controversy when taking a quick single from the bowling of John Snow. They collided, and Gavaskar fell over. Snow was charged with deliberately barging into Gavaskar and was suspended. Gavaskar's 144 runs at the low average of 24, led some to question Gavaskar's worthiness for international cricket.

First test series as a captain

His first series in charge was a West Indian visit to India for a six Test series. Gavaskar's several large centuries contrasted with several failures. His 205 in the First Test made him the first Indian to score a double century in India against the West Indies. season saw Gavaskar returned as captain for the Australasian tour, but it was to be the start of an unhappy reign for Gavaskar and India. He managed only 118 runs at 19.66 in the three Tests against Australia, but his impact in Australia was for a controversial incident. At the Melbourne Cricket Ground, when Gavaskar was given out by the Australian umpire Rex Whitehead, he ordered his fellow opener Chetan Chauhan off the field. Instead of abandoning the match, the Indian manager, SK Durani persuaded Chauhan to return to the match which India went on to win by 59 runs as Australia collapsed to 83 in their second innings. Against New Zealand in the league phase he recorded his highest ODI score of 103*. The good form however did not continue into the semifinals where Phil Defreitas bowled him for 4 runs in his last international innings.

Style

Gavaskar was also a fine slip fielder and his safe catching in the slips helped him become the first Indian (excluding wicket-keepers) to take over a hundred catches in Test matches. In one ODI against Pakistan in Sharjah in 1985, he took four catches and helped India defend a small total of 125. Early in his Test career, when India rarely used pace bowlers, Gavaskar also opened the bowling for a short spell on occasions if only one pace bowler was playing, before a three-pronged spin attack took over. The only wicket claimed by him is that of Pakistani Zaheer Abbas in 1978–79.

While Gavaskar could not be described as an attacking batsman, he had the ability of keeping the scoreboard ticking with unique shots such as the "late flick". His focus of technical correctness over flair meant that his style of play was usually less suited to the shorter form of the game, at which he had less success. His infamous 36 not out in the 1975 World Cup, carrying his bat through the full 60 overs against England, led Indian supporters to storm the field and confront him for scoring so slowly when India needed nearly a run a ball to win; at the end of the game India had lost only three wickets but scored 200 runs less than England. Gavaskar almost went through his career without scoring a one-day century. He managed his first (and only) ODI century in the 1987 World Cup, when he hit 103 not out in 88 balls against New Zealand in his penultimate ODI innings at Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground, Nagpur.

Records and achievements

Gavaskar was the first Test cricket player to make over 10,000 runs.
He held the record for the highest number of test centuries (34) before Sachin Tendulkar went past him in 2005.
He is a joint holder of the record for scoring centuries in both innings of a Test Match on three occasions along with Australia's Ricky Ponting and David Warner.
He was named one of the Wisden cricketers of the year in 1980.

Important statistics

Test debut: West Indies v India at Port of Spain, 6–10 March 1971
Last Test: India v Pakistan at Bangalore, 13–17 March 1987
First Class Debut: Vazir Sultan Colt's XI v Dungarpur XI at Hyderabad, 1966–67
Last First Class Match: Rest of the World v M.C.C. at Lord's, 1987
Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1980
Gavaskar's 100s in first class cricket.
Tests: 34,
Ranji Trophy: 20,
Irani Cup: 3,
Duleep Trophy: 6,
Rest of the World against England (his last first class game): 1,
County cricket for Somerset: 2,
Other games: 15.

Sachin Tendulkar equalled Sunil Gavaskar's record of first class 100s on 8 February 2013

Gavaskar was the first cricketer to play 100 consecutive test matches.

After playing career

thumb|right|Gavaskar with former [[Board of Control for Cricket in India|BCCI vice-president Dnyaneshwar Agashe.]]

After retirement, he has been a popular commentator both on TV and in print. In 1987, he participated in Prince Edward of the United Kingdom's charity television special The Grand Knockout Tournament. In 2003, he became the first Indian to deliver the MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture. He also served as an advisor to the India national cricket team during the home series against Australia in 2004. He was the Chairman of the ICC cricket committee until the time he was forced to choose between commenting and being on the committee. He left the committee to continue his career as a broadcaster.

The inaugural Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi Memorial Lecture was given by Gavaskar on 20 February 2013 at Taj Coromandel, Chennai.

On 28 March 2014 the Supreme Court of India appointed Gavaskar as the interim President of the BCCI, primarily to oversee the seventh Season of the Indian Premier League. At the same time the Court directed him to give up his job as a commentator.

Gavaskar joined Triton Solar as its Brand Ambassador.

Entertainment career

Gavaskar also tried his hand at acting on the silver screen. He played the lead role in the Marathi movie "Savli Premachi". The movie did not receive much appreciation though. After many years he appeared in a guest role in (1988) Hindi movie "Maalamaal". with Naseeruddin Shah and Satish Shah. He has sung a Marathi song "Ya Duniyemadhye Thambayaala Vel Konala" which was written by noted Marathi lyricist .

On 22 December 1994, Gavaskar was sworn in as Sheriff of Bombay—an honorary post, for a year, at Raj Bhavan in Mumbai in the presence of Governor P. C. Alexander and Chief minister Sharad Pawar.
In 1996, the Border–Gavaskar Trophy for the bilateral test series between India and Australia was instituted in honour of him and Allan Border. Both these players scored more than 10,000 runs in their respective Test careers and captained their teams.
"Gavaskar Stadium" in his home district of Vengurla has been named after him.
In 2003, he became the first Indian cricketer to deliver the MCC Spirit Of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture. He was the 3rd lecturer in the history of the Cowdrey lecture.
On 15 October 2017, Gavaskar inaugurated a cricket field in Louisville in the state of Kentucky in United States, thus making it the first international sporting facility named after an Indian sportsperson. The "Sunil M. Gavaskar Cricket Field", serves as the home ground for the Louisville Cricket Club, which is part of the 42-team MidWest Cricket League. Gavaskar was presented the keys of the ground by Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer.

Written works

Sunil Gavaskar has written several books, including autobiographies and commentaries on the history of cricket.

. In 1999, he released The Sunil Gavaskar Omnibus, which collects Sunny Days, Idols, and One Day Wonders, three of his autobiographical works. He has also been a columnist for several newspapers.

Controversies

Gavaskar has faced multiple controversies and including some big ones in 2025-2026. Mostly against Pakistani players.

2008 Controversy(s)

On 25 March 2008, Malcolm Speed, ICC chief executive, told Gavaskar "very clearly", during a meeting between the two at Dubai, that he would have to quit his post at the ICC if he failed to give up his job of commentator and newspaper columnist, in which capacity he has frequently criticised his employers and levelled serious accusations of racism.

He sparked a controversy in early 2008 for his comments on the contentious Sydney Test match: "Millions of Indians want to know if it (match referee Mike Procter's verdict against Harbhajan Singh) was a 'white man' taking the 'white man's' word against that of the 'brown man'. Quite simply, if there was no audio evidence, nor did the officials hear anything, then the charge did not stand." Despite the fact that Gavaskar's comment referenced Mike Procter and not the ICC, Australian writer Gideon Haigh said that, if Gavaskar genuinely believed this, "then he should almost certainly resign, for if the ICC is a bastion of 'white man's justice', Gavaskar bears some of the blame for having failed to change it.

Key 2026 Controversy

Zee News reported that Gavaskar stated income tax from Pakistani players' earnings in leagues like The Hundred is used by the Pakistan government to fund terrorism, arguing Indian-owned entities should not be paying them, regardless of whether it is an overseas subsidiary.

The criticism was directed at the YouTube video about the controversy Sunrisers Leeds (formerly Northern Superchargers) franchise in The Hundred for signing Abrar Ahmed for GBP 190,000.

As reported by Hindustan Times, critics alleged falsity, citing his own work for international boards, which he defended by stating he is not paid directly by Indian entities in those roles, notes The Times of India.

Gavaskar's comments caused a massive unexpected reputation damage for the franchise, leading to intense online debate and calls for boycotts of Indian-owned teams that hire Pakistani talent.

Babar Azam Controversy

According to a Facebook post, Gavaskar was criticized for roasting Pakistani cricketer Babar Azam by saying, "Babar Azam is a great batsman. He just needs a good coach who can advise him to retire."

Gautam Gambhir Controversy

A Youtube video of his comments states that he questioned why people were not giving former Indian coach Gautam Gambhir credit for previous wins while blaming him for recent poor performances most specifically and significantly a 0-2 loss against South Africa national cricket team in a Test Series on November 2025.

India-Pak Handshakes Controversy

A YouTube video of his comments mention his view that Indian players defending the Indian cricket team’s decision not to shake hands with Pakistani players during the 2025 Asia Cup, stating that "if opponents are abusive on the field, a handshake cannot be expected."

Following the incident, Pakistan skipped the post-match presentation, which Gavaskar criticized, emphasizing that teams should not avoid mandatory media obligations.

Personal life

Born in a Marathi speaking Brahmin family to Meenal (née Mantri) & Manohar Gavaskar, Gavaskar is married to Marshneill Gavaskar (née Mehrotra), daughter of a leather industrialist from Kanpur. Their son, Rohan, born in Kanpur, was also a cricketer who played 11 One Day Internationals for India, but could not cement his spot in the team. Rohan was given the name "Rohan Jaivishwa" by his father as a tribute to his 3 favourite cricketers—Rohan Kanhai; M. L. Jaisimha; and Rohan's uncle, Gundappa Vishwanath—although his name is usually recorded as Rohan Sunil Gavaskar.

As per his autobiography, "Sunny Days", in his own version, Sunil Gavaskar stated that he was exchanged with a fisherman's baby at birth. It was his uncle who spotted that the child was not Sunil as he had a birthmark near his ear. "Perhaps, I would have grown up to be an obscure fisherman, toiling somewhere along the west coast," Gavaskar wrote.

His maternal uncle was retired Indian cricketer Madhav Mantri. His sister Kavita Viswanath is married to cricketer Gundappa Viswanath. His other sister—Nutan Gavaskar was the honorary general secretary of Women's Cricket Association of India (WCAI).

According to a recollection by his son Rohan, Gavaskar saved a Muslim family from a violent mob during the 1993 Bombay riots. “We were standing on our terrace right after the bomb blasts, a few days later, when we saw a hate mob, and they had cornered a family. We knew they did not have any good intentions towards the family and dad saw that, ran down and confronted the hate mob. He told the mob, ‘whatever you are going to do that family, you are going to do to me first’, and then better sense prevailed and the family was allowed to go its way."

Gavaskar is an ardent devotee of Sathya Sai Baba.

In popular culture

The 2021 film 83 features Tahir Raj Bhasin as Gavaskar.

Sources

Brown, Alex. "Gavaskar slams 'white man' ban." The Age, 14 January 2008.
Haigh, Gideon. "Gavaskar's double role." Cricinfo. 15 January 2008. (Retrieved 22 November 2008).

References

External links

Rediff page on Sunil Gavaskar