Sunil Gavaskar and the West Indies is a story that gets retold at every cricket gathering. Astonishingly, a new detail or an unheard tale somehow manages to sneak in to leave the eyes wide open almost every time. The legendary India opener has himself gone on record countless times to narrate his famous battles with the West Indies team, especially their ferocious bowling line-up, but the stories and the tale of bravery or nightmare, depending on how you look at it, are never-ending. Not that cricket fans are complaining.
Yograj Singh, a former India medium pacer and the father of Yuvraj Singh, shared a story on how Gavaskar was threatened by the fearsome West Indies fast bowlers Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner, Andy Roberts, Michael Holding and Colin Croft. Yograj said West Indies pacers threatened to “kill” Gavaskar with bouncers.
"You should have seen the West Indians. Ask Sunil Gavaskar. He will tell you. Oh, it's another man. Small man. I'm going to kill you, man. You have kids. Go home. You bloody this and this and this and this. People like Michael Hoding, Marshall and all the guys are coming and abusing you. Hitting you on the head, bruising you. Go to the hospital. But they were also very harsh words," Yograj told Inside Sports.
Sending batters directly to the hospital from the cricket field is nothing new for the West Indies fast bowlers. Ask Dilip Vengsarkar, who was hit in the chin by Marshall during a group-stage match of the 1983 World Cup, forcing him to miss the rest of the tournament. But the fast bowlers of the West Indies in the late 70s and 80s had a special liking for Gavaskar. Not because they had any grudges against the Indian opener but because of his sheer success against them when most others felt tremors in their bodies at the mere thought of facing them.
Gavaskar's unmatchable record against West Indies
{{/usCountry}}Sending batters directly to the hospital from the cricket field is nothing new for the West Indies fast bowlers. Ask Dilip Vengsarkar, who was hit in the chin by Marshall during a group-stage match of the 1983 World Cup, forcing him to miss the rest of the tournament. But the fast bowlers of the West Indies in the late 70s and 80s had a special liking for Gavaskar. Not because they had any grudges against the Indian opener but because of his sheer success against them when most others felt tremors in their bodies at the mere thought of facing them.
Gavaskar's unmatchable record against West Indies
{{/usCountry}}Sample this, Gavaskar has scored 2749 in 27 Test matches against the West Indies at an average of 65.45 with 13 out of his then-record 34 centuries. Wait, there is more. In the Caribbean, he scored 1404 runs in 13 matches at 70, with 7 centuries. Yes, you read that right. He had a better average and more centuries in the West Indies.
In his debut series, he smashed 774 runs in four Tests in the historic India tour of 1971, in which India beat the West Indies in their backyard for the first time. The run tally still remains the highest by any Indian batter in a bilateral series. Gavaskar could not cross the fifty-run mark only once in the eight innings that he played in the four Tests.
In then-captain Ajit Wadekar's words, Gavaskar's emergence was a landmark moment in Indian cricket. His journey began under testing circumstances — just three days before the team’s departure, Gavaskar developed a painful whitlow on the middle finger of his left hand. The discomfort became so severe during the flight that team manager Keki Tarapore had to ask if there was a doctor on board.
Upon landing in New York, Gavaskar was rushed to a hospital where doctors delivered a grim warning: had he delayed treatment by another 24 hours, gangrene would have set in, and the finger would have needed amputation.
Despite the early scare, Gavaskar went on to deliver one of the most memorable performances in Indian cricket history. Battling another bout of pain — this time a severe toothache — he scored 124 and 220 in the fifth Test at Port-of-Spain, showing remarkable resilience and composure under pressure.
The West Indies team did not have the famous pace quartet at that time. It largely depended on Gary Sobers, Vanburn Holder, and Grayson Shillingford. Seven years later, Gavaskar would go on to hit 732 runs in a six-match series against the West Indies at home. The bowling attack included Malcolm Marshall, Vanburn Holder, and Larry Gomes.