Sunil Gavaskar had made his Test debut for India under the captaincy of Ajit Wadekar on the tour to West Indies in 1971.

Gavaskar made 774 runs in four Tests and went on to become one of the greats of the game.

In his column for PTI, Sunil Gavaskar paid rich tributes to his captain Ajit Wadekar.

Gavaskar wrote, “'Sunil, sorry, he is no more'. Those devastating words conveyed to me that 'my captain' Ajit Wadekar had passed away.  Just a little while earlier, I was trying to help put him in the car to rush him to the hospital since the ambulance was going to take another 15 minutes to arrive and even then it looked like it was a hopeless battle. Ajit Wadekar was my captain when I made my debut for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy and he was my skipper when I got my India cap. So for me, he was always 'captain'.”

Sunil Gavaskar further writes, “He was so prolific in local and Ranji Trophy cricket that it was a surprise to many that he made his India debut as late as 1966 against Garry Sobers' West Indies team. He was unkindly called a lucky captain by those who couldn't stomach the fact that he had replaced the charismatic Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi as the skipper.”

“When some of us sportspersons requested the Maharashtra Government for a plot of land to build an apartment block, it was Ajit who took the lead and there was Umrigar also in the society formed showing that he harbored no hard feelings towards his senior. Being the promoter, he got the top floor of the building when it was built and since I was on the floor immediately below him he used to always joke, 'I am the only one on top of Sunny',” wrote Gavaskar.

Gavaskar said, “There's hardly been a day when I haven't mimicked his 'arre kay re' at least once and not just me but even Sachin Tendulkar told me that he too says the same at least once a day. My captain is no more but he will always be with me when I say, ' arre kay re'.”

RIP, Captain.

(With PTI inputs)