Sunil Gavaskar turns 68: Here are 10 Unknown facts about the 'Little Master'

Sunil Gavaskar turns 68: Here are 10 Unknown facts about the 'Little Master'

One of India's batting legends Sunil Gavaskar and former Indian captain, Sunil ‘Sunny’ Gavaskar, turned 68 on Monday. The batting maestro was Gavaskar is considered as one of the all time batting greats to have played the game. Gavaskar was the linchpin of the Indian batting in the mid 70s and 80s. 

The Little Master was known to have one of the best techniques and a rock solid defence. He created a niche for himself by taking on the fearsome West Indies pace quartlet with utter disdain at the peak of their careers.

Here are 10 Unknown facts about the 'Little Master':

Sunil Gavaskar turns 68: Here are 10 Unknown facts about the 'Little Master'

1. Sunil Gavaskar’s first runs in Test cricket were actually leg-byes that were not given which he revealed this fact in his autobiography ‘Sunny days;’

Sunil Gavaskar turns 68: Here are 10 Unknown facts about the 'Little Master'

2. Gavaskar has lent his voice to a Marathi song ‘Ya Duniyemadhye Thambayaala Vel Konala’, depicting the similarities between a cricket match and real life.

Sunil Gavaskar turns 68: Here are 10 Unknown facts about the 'Little Master'

3. Gavaskar had a habit of not looking at the scoreboard while batting. This meant that he often was unaware about the runs he has scored. One such incident when he didn’t know that he had crossed a milestone was when he scored his 29th Test century to equal Sir Don Bradman’s record that had stood for more than three decades. 

Sunil Gavaskar turns 68: Here are 10 Unknown facts about the 'Little Master'

4. Sunil Gavaskar childhood hero were West Indian Rohan Kanhai and India’s ML Jaisimha. He also is the brother-in-law of Indian cricket legend Gundappa Vishwanath He named his son Rohan after his idols.

Sunil Gavaskar turns 68: Here are 10 Unknown facts about the 'Little Master'

5. Sunil Gavaskar was petrified of dogs. Legendary English all-rounder Ian Botham once trapped him inside a phone booth by simply standing outside it with a massive dog. 

Sunil Gavaskar turns 68: Here are 10 Unknown facts about the 'Little Master'

6. Trinidad Calypso singer Lord Relator (Willard Harris) wrote a song in Gavaskar’s honour, the “Gavaskar Calypso.”

Sunil Gavaskar turns 68: Here are 10 Unknown facts about the 'Little Master'

7. Sunil Gavaskar had a strong cricketing  not the only one international cricketer from his family. His maternal uncle was Madhav Mantri, who played four Test for India. Gavaskar’s son, Rohan, represented India in 11 ODIs. GR Vishwanath, the former Indian batsman is Gavaskar’s brother-in-law. 

Sunil Gavaskar turns 68: Here are 10 Unknown facts about the 'Little Master'

8. Gavaskar might have ended up catching fish rather than scoring runs but for a sharp-eyed relative. 

Sunil Gavaskar turns 68: Here are 10 Unknown facts about the 'Little Master'

9. Interestingly, when he was born, a nurse accidentally placed him next to a fisherwoman.

Sunil Gavaskar turns 68: Here are 10 Unknown facts about the 'Little Master'

10. He acted as the lead hero in a Marathi film, ‘Saavli Premachi’. He also made a special appearance as himself in the Hindi film, Malamaal.