50 Fun Facts About Sunil Gavaskar

In his autobiography, Sunil Gavaskar says he was accidentally swapped at birth with whose baby?

A fisherman's baby had been exchanged with the newborn Gavaskar until an uncle spotted the mix-up, remembering a birthmark near his nephew's ear.

Which protective gear did Sunil Gavaskar refuse to wear, believing it slowed a batsman's reflexes?

A helmet was the one item Gavaskar turned down, yet he averaged 65.45 in Tests against the West Indies and their feared fast bowlers.

How did Sunil Gavaskar's 36 not out against England in the 1975 World Cup opener become notorious?

He batted all 60 overs for those 36 runs, facing 174 balls while India chased 335, and angry supporters ran onto the field to confront him.

Whose world record of 29 Test centuries did Sunil Gavaskar equal and then pass in 1983?

Don Bradman's 29 hundreds fell within one series: Gavaskar drew level with a 94-ball century in Delhi, then went past him with 236 not out in Madras.

How did Sunil Gavaskar counter Karnataka spinner Raghuram Bhat in the 1981–82 Ranji Trophy semi-final?

Batting left-handed for over an hour, Gavaskar, who came in at number eight, kept Bhat out and made sure Bombay did not lose outright.

Which Australian captain shares the name of the India–Australia Test trophy with Sunil Gavaskar?

Allan Border was the natural pairing because, like Gavaskar, he had captained his country and passed 10,000 Test runs.

In which US state did Sunil Gavaskar open a cricket field bearing his own name in 2017?

Kentucky is home to the Sunil M. Gavaskar Cricket Field in Louisville, billed as the first international sporting facility named after an Indian sportsperson.

Which kind of song did West Indian singer Lord Relator write to celebrate Sunil Gavaskar's first Test tour?

A calypso, the 'Gavaskar Calypso', followed the tour on which India won a Test series in the Caribbean for the first time.

Which Bombay schoolboy was given a pair of Sunil Gavaskar's own batting pads by the opener in 1987?

Sachin Tendulkar got the pads as consolation for missing out on a junior award, and in 2005 he passed Gavaskar's record of 34 Test centuries.

Sunil Gavaskar's 774 against the West Indies in 1971 set the Test record for most runs in what?

A debut series had never yielded so many: Gavaskar made his 774 at an average of 154.80, even though he missed the first Test of the tour.

Which nickname did Bombay-born opener Sunil Gavaskar carry through his 16-year Test career with India?

Little Master was first the title of Pakistan's Hanif Mohammad, another small opener famed for marathon innings, before it passed to Gavaskar.

Which all-rounder traded the India captaincy with Sunil Gavaskar and lifted the 1983 World Cup?

Kapil Dev replaced Gavaskar as captain just six months before that triumph, then lost the job back to him in 1984 after India went 29 Tests without a win.

Which autobiography did Sunil Gavaskar publish in 1976, only five years into his Test career?

Sunny Days was the first of several books, and it was later bundled with Idols and One Day Wonders in a single omnibus volume.

Which Indian prime minister honoured Sunil Gavaskar at the Delhi ground after his 29th Test century?

Indira Gandhi honoured him in 1983 after he hooked the West Indies fast bowlers for 121, reaching his fifty in only 37 balls.

Which Pakistan fast bowler called Sunil Gavaskar the most compact batsman he had ever bowled to?

Imran Khan first bowled to him in 1978–79, when the rivals met for the first time in 17 years and Gavaskar hit two centuries in the Karachi Test.

Sunil Gavaskar's 90 helped take the 1986 Madras Test between India and Australia to which rare result?

A tied match had happened only once before in Test cricket, in 1960, and this one was also Gavaskar's 100th consecutive Test, a first for any player.

Sunil Gavaskar stepped down as chairman of the ICC cricket committee so that he could keep doing what?

TV commentary and his newspaper columns clashed with the post, so the ICC's chief executive told him to choose, and he picked the microphone.

Which body appointed Sunil Gavaskar interim BCCI president in 2014 to oversee the Indian Premier League?

The Supreme Court of India put him in charge for the tournament's seventh season and, in the same order, told him to step away from his broadcasting work.

Which Australian bowler's lbw dismissal of Sunil Gavaskar at Melbourne in 1981 sparked an attempted walk-off?

Dennis Lillee won the decision, and a furious Gavaskar ordered his opening partner to leave with him before India's manager stepped in; India still won by 59 runs.

In 2025, who became the first Indian since Sunil Gavaskar to score a hundred and a double hundred in one Test?

Shubman Gill did it against England at Edgbaston, 54 years after Gavaskar made 124 and 220 in Port of Spain.

Sunil Gavaskar's only one-day international century, at the 1987 World Cup, came against which team?

New Zealand's bowlers conceded an unbeaten 103 from just 88 balls at Nagpur, in what proved to be the second-last one-day innings of his career.

At which Indian ground did Sunil Gavaskar vow never to play again after a crowd pelted him with fruit?

Eden Gardens turned on him during a slow Indian innings against England, and keeping the vow two years later ended his run of 106 consecutive Tests.

Which royal organised 'The Grand Knockout Tournament', a 1987 charity TV special featuring Sunil Gavaskar?

Prince Edward conceived the game show, also known as It's a Royal Knockout, with himself, Princess Anne and the Duke and Duchess of York as team captains.

Sunil Gavaskar played the lead role in the film 'Savli Premachi', which was made in which Indian language?

Marathi is the language Gavaskar grew up speaking, and he also recorded a song in it comparing a cricket match with real life.

On which Caribbean island did Sunil Gavaskar hit the winning runs in his first Test in 1971?

Trinidad staged India's first-ever Test win over the West Indies that week, and Gavaskar went on to score four Test centuries at Port of Spain.

Which West Indian fast bowler knocked the bat out of Sunil Gavaskar's hands at Kanpur in 1983?

Malcolm Marshall got his answer a Test later in Delhi, where Gavaskar hooked him for four and six on the way to a 94-ball century.

Which civilian award did President Neelam Sanjiva Reddy present to Sunil Gavaskar in 1980?

Padma Bhushan is India's third-highest civilian award, and Gavaskar received it with seven years of his Test career still to come.

Which opening partner shared ten century stands with Sunil Gavaskar yet never made a Test hundred?

Chetan Chauhan added 3,022 runs with Gavaskar in 59 opening stands and finished with 2,084 Test runs, 16 fifties and no century.

Sunil Gavaskar lost the India captaincy in 1979 amid belief that he was about to sign for what?

World Series Cricket was the suspected reason, though officially the selectors said Venkataraghavan had more experience of English conditions.

Which tournament, first staged in Sharjah in 1984, did India win under Sunil Gavaskar's captaincy?

The Asia Cup began as a three-team round robin, and India beat both Sri Lanka and Pakistan to take the inaugural title.

Which Indian batsman, Sunil Gavaskar's Test team-mate throughout the 1970s, married Gavaskar's sister Kavita?

Gundappa Viswanath, at about 5 ft 3 in even shorter than Gavaskar, played his first Test in 1969, two years before his future brother-in-law.

Whose world record of 8,114 career Test runs did Sunil Gavaskar overtake against the West Indies in 1983?

Geoff Boycott's mark fell during an Indian defeat, one Test after Gavaskar's 29th hundred and three before his unbeaten 236 in the same series.

At which English ground did Sunil Gavaskar almost steer India to a record target of 438 in 1979?

The Oval saw India reach 328 for 1 on the final afternoon before finishing nine runs short of victory with two wickets in hand.

In which Indian city did Sunil Gavaskar become the first batsman to pass 10,000 Test runs, in 1987?

Ahmedabad saw the milestone arrive during an innings of 63 against Pakistan, in the second-last Test of his career.

Which honorary civic post in Bombay did Sunil Gavaskar take up for a year in December 1994?

Sheriff of Bombay is an apolitical, titular post given to a prominent citizen for one year; other holders have included an architect and an actress.

Sunil Gavaskar named his son after which Guyanese batsman, one of his three favourite cricketers?

Rohan Kanhai supplied the first name; the boy's middle name, Jaivishwa, blended those of two Indian batsmen Gavaskar also admired.

Sunil Gavaskar's 102 at Port of Spain in 1976 helped India set which Test world record?

Highest successful run chase: India made 406 for 4 in the fourth innings, passing the 404 for 3 Australia made to beat England at Headingley in 1948.

Which actor played Sunil Gavaskar in '83', the 2021 film about India's first World Cup win?

Tahir Raj Bhasin took the part in Kabir Khan's film, appearing opposite Ranveer Singh, who starred as the team's captain.

Sunil Gavaskar's final international match, the 1987 World Cup semi-final, was played at which Bombay ground?

Wankhede Stadium, his home ground, saw England win by 35 runs after Gavaskar was bowled for 4 in his last innings for India.

Under which captain did Sunil Gavaskar play in India's maiden Test series win in the West Indies?

Ajit Wadekar had just replaced Pataudi in the job, and his side followed the Caribbean triumph with a series win in England later in 1971.

Which former India Test wicketkeeper was Sunil Gavaskar's uncle and a Bombay selector when he first played?

Madhav Mantri's presence drew jibes about favouritism when Gavaskar made a duck in his first Ranji Trophy match, and he answered with 114 in his second.

Sunil Gavaskar first led India in a Test in January 1976 because which regular captain had a leg injury?

Bishan Singh Bedi missed the Auckland Test, and stand-in skipper Gavaskar responded with 116 and 35 not out in an eight-wicket win.

Sunil Gavaskar's 2012 BCCI lifetime achievement award is named after which pioneer of Indian cricket?

C. K. Nayudu was India's first Test captain, and the award in his name is the highest honour the BCCI gives a former player.

Sunil Gavaskar scored 188 at Lord's in his final first-class match, staged to mark whose 200th anniversary?

Marylebone Cricket Club marked the occasion against a Rest of the World XI, and Gavaskar's hundred was his first at the ground.

Sunil Gavaskar took just one wicket in 125 Tests, dismissing which Pakistan batsman in 1978–79?

Zaheer Abbas was the lone victim; early in Gavaskar's career India used so few fast bowlers that he sometimes opened the bowling himself.

Which England bowler dismissed Sunil Gavaskar for 4 in his last international innings, at the 1987 World Cup?

Phil DeFreitas bowled him in the semi-final, a flat end to a tournament in which Gavaskar had scored 300 runs at an average of 50.

Which England fast bowler was suspended after barging into Sunil Gavaskar during a quick single in 1971?

John Snow sent the newcomer sprawling as he ran, and the collision came in a series where Gavaskar managed only two half-centuries.

Which ailment kept Sunil Gavaskar out of the first Test of India's 1971 tour of the West Indies?

A nail infection sidelined him for one match, and he still finished the five-Test series with four centuries.

In which city did Sunil Gavaskar play his final Test innings, falling for 96 against Pakistan in 1987?

Bangalore saw him dismissed four short of a 35th Test century as India were bowled out to lose the series 1–0.

Which fielding position made Sunil Gavaskar the first Indian non-wicketkeeper with 100 Test catches?

Slip was his station: he finished with 108 Test catches and once held four in a single one-day international in Sharjah.