JANUARY 1, 2021
New Delhi, INDIA: Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has opened up on his controversial walk-off with batting partner Chetan Chauhan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1981 after being wrongly adjudged out by the umpire. In an interaction with former Australian fast bowler Damien Fleming at 7Cricket, Gavaskar cleared it was not the poor umpiring but an Australian player telling him to ‘get lost’ that prompting him to leave the filed with Chauhan.
“The misconception is that I was upset at the LBW decision,” Gavaskar said. “Yes, it was upsetting. But the walk-off happened only because, as I had gone past Chetan on the way to the change-rooms, the Australians had given me a spray. They told me to get lost, which is where I have come back and asked Chetan to walk off with me.”
India had won the test match by 59 runs on the back of a five-wicket spell by Kapil Dev in the fourth innings. The walk-off incident had caused huge controversy in 1981 and it was assumed Gavaskar decided to walk off after being wrongly adjudged out by the umpire.
“His (Chetan’s) reaction (to be asked to walk-off) was ‘are you serious’? Then as we walked further he asked ‘are you serious?’ At which point I walked further away from him,” Gavaskar added.
Courtesy/Source: English Jagran
