Before Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, and Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar was the true pioneer of Indian cricket. Known for his fearless approach, Gavaskar dominated the game long before the term “alpha male” became popular. As the first to score 10,000 Test runs, he faced some of the fastest bowlers in cricket history, including Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thomson, and the West Indies pace quartet featuring Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall and Michael Holding. Gavaskar’s remarkable achievements and boldness set him apart as an exceptional cricketer.

In the 1970s, however, his attitude was different. His former teammate Karsan Ghavri shared stories that highlighted how Gavaskar did things on his terms. Ghavri, a former Indian pacer, recounted how Gavaskar’s sheer power and resolve allowed him to have his way. One of the most talked-about incidents in Gavaskar’s career was his notoriously slow innings of 36 from 174 balls during the 1975 World Cup. Despite causing frustration in the dressing room, the Little Master remained unwavering in his decision to play it his way.

“As Indian cricketers, we didn’t know how to approach one-day cricket. In our first match, England set a target of 334, but when we came to bat, Sunil played out all 60 overs. Many times, messages were sent to him asking him to either speed up or get out to increase the run rate. But Sunil Gavaskar was Sunil Gavaskar in the 1970s. He wouldn’t listen to anyone,” Ghavri told Vickey Lalwani.

“He just faced Tony Grieg, Geoff Arnold, Chris Old, and Bob Willis. After the match, his explanation was, ‘I was facing these bowlers, preparing for the Test matches ahead.’ The dressing room was in chaos, and when our manager asked him, Gavaskar simply said, ‘Leave me alone,’ he added.

Ghavri recalled another incident when Gavaskar refused to respond to the Prime Minister of India. During a Test match at Feroz Shah Kotla, PM Morarji Desai was due to meet the players, but he arrived 10 minutes late, just as the toss was taking place and India was about to bat.

“Sunil Gavaskar was ready, padded up and focused in the dressing room. Raj Singh Dungarpur was there too, but Sunil remained deeply concentrated, preparing to bat in a few minutes. Raj Singh urged everyone to join the Prime Minister for a brief introduction, which would only take 2-3 minutes. While everyone went out, Sunil refused, saying ‘I am not coming’. Let me concentrate, My batting is important for me and my team. They respected his decision and left him alone.”

“Sunil batted until tea and scored some runs. At the end of the day, we were unaware that the Prime Minister had come to the dressing room specifically to meet Gavaskar. This is how Sunil Gavaskar, at the peak of his career from 1971 to 1987, was always a champion. He could get away with murder.”