As a little boy Gavaskar used to have daily cricket matches with his mother in the small gallery of their middle -class apartment in Mumbai. He always wanted to be a batsman and even as a young man he hated to lose his wicket and would throw a tantrum when he was dismissed. He learned from Modhaw Mantre, his uncle and Indian player that he would have to work hard to earn the Indian colours, and that there were no short cuts to the top.

He played his last test innings against Pakistan in Bangalore in the fifth and final test in 1987. His debut was against the West Indies in 1970-71 at Port of Spain, Trinidad. In that time he showed he was the most complete opening batsman. “The Indian combines Boycott’s steadiness and Greenidge’s ability to keep the runs flowing,” commented Ian Botham. He was an Indian cricketer that made Indians feel proud of being Indian– many radio or television sets were switched off as soon as he was dismissed.

For a large part of his early career, he cut out risky and aggressive shots like the cut, hook and pull and concentrated on playing inside the ‘V’. In the latter part of his career he batted with gay abandon and fast bowlers often dreaded bowling to him. He modelled his game on immense concentration, fierce determination, and single minded dedication to the cause of his team, quick footwork, sound timing and discipline.
His achievements and records testify to these qualities:

He scored 774 runs in the 1970/71 series against the West Indies.

He is the only batsman to score 1000 runs in a calendar year on four occasions. He scored the most test runs as an Indian. He scored 58 century stands with 18 different players. He is the only cricketer to score 4 consecutive centuries at 2 venues Port of Spain and Waukhede. He captained the maximum draws in test cricket.

He now works as a journalist and T.V commentator.