Aunshuman Gaekwad died on July 31, 2024, aged 71. An opening batter, he played 40 Test matches and 15 ODIs between 1974/75 and 1987/88. He was remembered in the 2025 edition of the Wisden Almanack.
GAEKWAD, AUNSHUMAN DATTAJIRAO, died of leukaemia on July 31, aged 71, less than six months after his father, the former Indian captain Datta Gaekwad. Aunshuman overcame a rocky start – “When I used to go for coaching as a kid, I was very scared of fast bowling” – to become a resolute batsman who often opened against the West Indian pacemen of his time.
Usually batting in glasses, Gaekwad won 40 caps, making two centuries – 102 against the young Malcolm Marshall at Kanpur in
1978/79, sharing big stands with Gundappa Viswanath and Mohinder Amarnath as India piled up 644, and 201 against Pakistan at Jalandhar in 1983/84, when the next-highest score was 54. Gaekwad was determined to reclaim his place after missing out on selection for the 1983 World Cup, which India had won: in the first Test, he had made a gritty 66 in an unbeaten opening stand of 176 with Sunil Gavaskar, and now dropped anchor for over 11 hours, scoring what was then the slowest Test double. Pakistan’s captain Zaheer Abbas also wore glasses, and applauded Gaekwad all the way back to the pavilion: “I was pleased to see another guy with spectacles playing, and I would observe him closely.”
Gavaskar was also an admirer: “I enjoyed opening the batting with him.” He thought Gaekwad showed his mettle in just his second Test, against West Indies at Madras in 1974/75, “with Andy Roberts on the rampage”. Gaekwad made an undefeated 80 in the second innings: “He stood up to that with technique and guts and his ability to get right behind the line of the ball… he was always courageous.”
Courage was certainly required in the Caribbean early in 1976, when Gaekwad was one of several Indians injured during the Kingston Test. He was hit on the head by a Michael Holding bouncer: “I was lying on the pitch with blood dripping from my ear. I don’t know where my specs flew,” he recounted in his 2023 autobiography Guts Amidst Bloodbath. “My brain was vibrating. I could barely keep my eyes open and was scared of getting unconscious.” Gavaskar took him to the local hospital, where a busy ward had already treated Viswanath and would soon receive Brijesh Patel; the scorecard shows India as 97 all out, with five batsmen absent or retired hurt. Gaekwad had no broken bones, though he would later suffer hearing problems.
Some low scores against England in 1984/85 signalled the end of his international career, but he played on for Baroda until 1991/92, finishing with just under 6,000 runs for them, and 16 centuries, the highest 225 against Gujarat in November 1982. His off-breaks did little damage in Tests, but were occasionally fruitful in the Ranji Trophy: he took 6-49 against Saurashtra on New Year’s Day in 1972.
Gaekwad later became a Test selector, and was India’s coach between 1997 and 1999, returning for another short stint in 2000. He later chaired the Indian Cricketers’ Association. In 2018, the board gave him their highest honour, the CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award. His son, Shatrunjay, also played for Baroda.
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