Best XI of the most selfish cricketers

2. Sunil Gavaskar

“The entire party is upset about it. Our national pride is too important to be thrown away like this.” These were the scathing words of Team India’s manager Ramchand in the immediate aftermath of ‘Little Master’ Sunil Gavaskar’s mind-numbing 174-ball 36 in the opening game of the inaugural Cricket World Cup in 1975 between India and England.

Imagine the scene: a bustling Lord’s gobsmacked at the prospect of one side shellacking 334 in 60 overs, and then equally shocked at one of the great batsmen in the world blocking his way to an eye-soaring 174-ball 36, another 60 overs later. 

It was a dichotomy of the highest proportion. No one to this day really knows the motives of Gavaskar playing such a knock when India needed to chase down the total of 334 in 60 overs but when the ‘Little Master’ in his defense said that the wicket was too slow, his claims were immediately shot down by the critics, given the fact that England had just hammered 334 on that same track.

Team India’s manager Ramchand was pretty scathing in his remarks in which he said, “It was the most disgraceful and selfish performance I have ever seen… his excuse [to me] was, the wicket was too slow to play shots but that was a stupid thing to say after England had scored 334.”

Many rumors abounded at the time, the most popular being that Gavaskar was unhappy with the team selection and the management’s decision to ditch their strategy of relying on spinners [who had been mauled in the summer of 1974].

Gavaskar was constantly alleged during his playing days for playing too slowly and also for personal records. Years later Gavaskar revealed that he had actually been caught behind off the second ball of that infamous innings, and admitted he wished he had walked.