When Garry Sobers would touch Sunil Gavaskar for luck and score century after century...

India's legendary opening batsman Sunil Gavaskar said that luck has played a major role at various stages of his life. “I am here only because of luck,” Gavaskar said here on Friday after releasing 'As Luck Would Have It',  the autobiography of former Test opening batsman, Madhav Apte.

Luck was with Gavaskar right from his birth. It is a known fact that Gavaskar's uncle Narayan Masurekar noticed a hole in the child's ear soon after birth that during his second visit to the hospital, the child next to Gavaskar's mother did not have a hole in the ear. After searching the hospital, Gavaskar was found next to a fisherwoman and was restored to his mother.

Luck was with Gavaskar throughout his cricketing career. As he would narrate in his typical witty fashion, how luck played a major role for West Indies captain Garry Sobers in his maiden Test tour of the Caribbean islands in 1970-71.

“I had a whitlow before the tour began and as it took longer to heal, I had it sliced and because of which I had to miss the first Test. Kenia Jayantilal played in the first Test. He was the best player of short ball. On that Sabina Park pitch to a short ball, he did not duck but swayed out of his way. But the bat was still up there and the ball would take the edge. Garry Sobers at slips dived to his right, not his natural side as he was a left-hander, to pick up the catch inches off the ground. Jayantilal was out for five.

“Between the first and second Tests, there were tour games. I got runs there and was selected to replace Jayantilal in the second Test. As luck would have it, I was batting on 12 when I went for a drive, got a thick outside edge. It was a regulation catch in the midriff region but Sobers dropped. I went on to score a half-century.

“In my second Test on my way to my maiden Test century, I was lucky against off-spinner Jack Noreiga. Garry Sobers had just moved from his original position to his left towards silly mid-on. The ball hit my glove and popped up to where Sobers was originally to stand. Had he not moved, I would have been out early. I went on to score my first Test hundred (116). If this is not luck, I don't know what luck is.”

Gavaskar did not stop here. He spoke how the rival captain Sobers would touch him on the morning of each day's play and go out and score century after century.

Over to Gavaskar. “Those days, players from both the teams used to mingle with each other, something that is missing these days. Every morning of the Test matches, Sobers would come to our dressing room and say hello to captain Ajit Wadekar and to all the team members. He said that I was too lucky as I was scoring a lot of runs. He'd touch me for luck as he was going through a lean patch. He was on eight when an appeal for catch as short-leg was not given out. He went on to score a hundred. Next Test, he would say to me, 'let me touch you for luck, maan' and goes out and scored a century.

“In the fifth Test, the game entered the sixth day as an outright result had not been achieved by the fifth day. I was batting on 180 overnight (after Day 5). On the day before, Sobers took a catch and the ball stuck to his diaphragm and he could not breathe. The dressing rooms those days were separated by a net. On the sixth morning, we could hear Sobers's laughter and Ajit said, 'He is fit' meaning he would go out to bat that day. As usual, Sobers came to our dressing room and talk to us. Before he came, Ajit took me by the hand and locked me in the toilet. I was protesting with my captain as I had to pad up and resume my innings. I told Ajit, 'so what if he did not touch me in the dressing room, he could touch me on the ground before batting. To which Ajit said, 'No, no, he gets lucky by touching you in the dressing room'. Sobers came, talked for five to ten minutes and goes back. After he went back, I was unlocked from the toilet.

“When Sobers came on to bat that day, Abid Ali bowled Sobers for a first ball duck. I was not at the ground as I had a tooth ache and got it extracted. That evening, as we were celebrating, my captain says, 'I told you so. He did not touch you and got out for a duck'. So, luck plays a part.”

Gavaskar and Apte went a long way. Apte has been family friends with the Gavaskars for long. Apte said: “I have known Sunil's family for 60 years. He father played club cricket while Sunil's uncle Madhav Mantri was a strict disciplinarian while Sunil was full of fun and mischief. Manti and Sunil were like chalk and cheese.”

Apte paid rich tributes to Gavaskar, saying: “Sunil, you were a master. Irrespective of the conditions, what you have achieved against the pace battery without body protection is simply amazing. That needed class and you were a class batsman. I hope the current generation will treat you as an idol and look after your game and try and copy your game and correctness.”

Gavaskar, on his part, remembered the days when in the company of Apte and other Bombay cricket greats he learnt a lot about the game. “When I look back at my career, when I was dropped from the Bombay team after the Irani Cup (1967-68), the next match was a Ranji Trophy and I was replaced by Madhav Apte. Apte was out first ball in his comeback innings. I was hoping, 'abhi milega', my chance would come.

“As luck would have it, I was not even in the 14-member squad for the next couple of seasons. That period made all that more determined to come back to national and international cricket. Those months were absolutely priceless. I met Madhav Apte, Ajit Wadekar, Vasu Paranjape and others and talked to them about what I needed to get back to the side.”

Gavaskar thanked Apte for “having taken my place and given me that much more exposure (in talking to the greats)”.

The 65-year-old Gavaskar said he was a “sucker to meeting players who played just before me as they were the ones who showed us the way”.

“Spending time with Madhavrao, in the lawns of CCI, hearing stories about Vijay Merchant were priceless. Those evenings convinced me to decide, 'Sunil, you must never be a selector'. They would select the best left-handers XI, best right-handers XI, etc. and for every position that I would say X should be selected, they would argue why Y should be there and not X. I am better off as a commentator.”

Gavaskar's way of telling stories is to be experienced to be believed. That he is a great mimic and enthralls the audience is legendary. Friday was another such evening when he spoke for 27 minutes imitating Sobers, Wadekar and West Indies spectators.

Apte, 82, played seven Tests in the early 1950s including a five-Test series in the West Indies where he aggregated 460 runs including his lone hundred – 163 not out in Trinidad. Apte was never to play for India again on return. Gavaskar is still puzzled as to why Apte did not play another Test after that West Indies tour. “Why was he dropped after scoring so many runs? Nobody else would score more than 300 unless it was against India,” Gavaskar said.

HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh was also a chief guest at the book release. An avid cricket fan, Parekh said of Apte: “The book has the very essence of Madhav. It is honest, inquisitive and adventurous.” Parekh also spoke about Apte's interests in the sugar industry and also in other sports including badminton, tennis and squash.

The evening had a rich gathering of the who's who of Mumbai cricket including former Test captains Contractor and Wadekar, Bombay cricket stalwarts including Vasu Paranjape and Milind Rege besides legendary shuttler Nandu Natekar among others.