Sunil Manohar "Sunny" Gavaskar (Marathi pronunciation: [suniːl ɡaːʋəskəɾ]; born 10 July 1949), is a former captain of the Indian national cricket team who represented India and Mumbai from 1971 to 1987.

He scored 246*, 222 and 85 in school cricket in his final year of secondary education before striking a century against the touring London schoolboys.

He scored some runs in the final two Tests which India drew to complete consecutive series wins over England.

He scored 108 runs at 27, with an 86 bowled by Lance Gibbs at Bombay's Wankhede Stadium hosting the first test on this ground, the closest the Indian public got to see a century.

[15] On the West Indian leg of the tour, Gavaskar scored consecutive centuries of 156 and 102 in the Second and Third Tests, both in Port of Spain, Trinidad.

In the Third Test, his 102 helped India post 4/406 to set a world record for the highest winning fourth innings score.

For the first time, Gavaskar faced Pakistani pace spearhead Imran Khan, who described him as "The most compact batsman I've bowled to."

Often equipped with unpenetrative bowling attacks he tended to use conservative tactics which resulted in a large number of draws.

Led by Gavaskar, India made steady progress to be 328/1 with 20 overs remaining on the final day with a record-breaking victory still possible.

According to Sanjay Manjrekar, it was "Vintage Gavaskar, playing swing bowling to perfection, taking his time initially and then opening up.

He made 115 in the Fourth Test in Delhi, where India were unable to convert a 212-run first innings lead, resulting in a draw.

At the Melbourne Cricket Ground, when Gavaskar was given out by the Australian umpire Rex Whitehead, he ordered his fellow opener Chetan Chauhan off the field.

[15] The 1982–83 subcontinental season started well for Gavaskar on an individual note, as he made 155 in a one-off Test against Sri Lanka in Madras.

Gavaskar, unwilling to be dictated to by the Caribbean pacemen, hooked the short-pitched barrage relentlessly, reaching his half century in 37 balls.

He also passed 8,000 Test runs in the innings, and was personally honoured by Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India at the ground.

Angry spectators pelted objects onto the playing arena and clashed with police, before stoning the team bus.

[12][15] With India having failed to win for 29 successive Tests, Kapil was sacked as captain and Gavaskar resumed leadership at the start of the 1984–85 season.

It proved to be a false dawn, with England squaring the series 1–1 in Delhi before another controversial Third Test at Eden Gardens in Calcutta.

Gavaskar vowed never to play at Eden Gardens again, and duly withdrew from the team for India's next fixture at the Bengali capital two years later, ending his record of 106 consecutive Tests.

The change of captain improved the form of neither Gavaskar nor India as they toured Sri Lanka for a three-Test series.

Against an Australian team, Gavaskar made 90 in the second innings of the First Test in Madras (now Chennai), giving India a chance to reach the target of 348, which ended in a tie.

While Gavaskar could not be described as an attacking batsman, he had the ability of keeping the scoreboard ticking with unique shots such as the "late flick".

His focus of technical correctness over flair meant that his style of play was usually less suited to the shorter form of the game, at which he had less success.

His infamous 36 not out in the 1975 World Cup, carrying his bat through the full 60 overs against England, led Indian supporters to storm the field and confront him for scoring so slowly when India needed nearly a run a ball to win; at the end of the game India had lost only three wickets but scored 200 runs less than England.

Sachin Tendulkar equalled Sunil Gavaskar's record of first class 100s on 8 February 2013 [30] After retirement, he has been a popular commentator both on TV and in print.

[34] The inaugural Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi Memorial Lecture was given by Gavaskar on 20 February 2013 at Taj Coromandel, Chennai.

[35] On 28 March 2014 the Supreme Court of India appointed Gavaskar as the interim President of the BCCI, primarily to oversee the seventh Season of the Indian Premier League.

Their son, Rohan, born in Kanpur, was also a cricketer who played 11 One Day Internationals for India, but could not cement his spot in the team.

As per his autobiography, "Sunny Days", in his own version, Sunil Gavaskar stated that he was exchanged with a fisherman's baby at birth.

[60] According to a recollection by his son Rohan, Gavaskar saved a Muslim family from a violent mob during the 1993 Bombay riots.