Gaekwad was a recipient of the C. K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award, Indian cricket's highest honour, in 2018.

[1] The senior Gaekwad held the title of the oldest living Indian test cricketer before his death in February 2024.

[1] Gaekwad made his debut in the third test of the 1974 West Indies tour of India in Calcutta (present day Kolkata) scoring 36 runs.

Recounting a strike on his face and his ear in the 1976 test against West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica by the West Indian fast bowler Michael Holding, who was nicknamed Whispering Death, Gaekwad recalled, "My glasses flew all over the place and there was blood all around.

The couple had two sons, Annirudha and Shatrunjay Gaekwad, both of whom were cricketers, with the latter having represented Baroda in Ranji trophy.

[11][12] Gaekwad died from leukemia, a type of blood cancer, in Vadodara on 31 July 2024, at the age of 71.

The BCCI and his fellow India teammates had come forward to provide financial help for his treatment after an appeal from the likes of Kapil Dev.