Melbourne: Sunil Gavaskar has cleared the air on his infamous walkout during the Melbourne Test of 1981, saying it was the Australian players' "get lost" call, and not his leg-before dismissal, that prompted him to storm off the ground with his opening partner.
In the 1981 series, which was dogged by some inconsistent umpiring, a Dennis Lillee in-cutter caught Gavaskar plumb in front and umpire Rex Whitehead, standing in just his third Test, raised his finger.
But Gavaskar, who thought that the ball had got his bat on the way to the pad, protested by standing his ground long enough.
"The misconception is that I was upset at the lbw decision," Gavaskar told a media outlet.
"Yes, it was upsetting. But the walk-off happened only because, as I had gone past Chetan (Chauhan) on the way to the change-rooms, the Australians had given me a spray. They told me to get lost, which is where I've come back and asked Chetan to walk off with me."
Gavaskar also slapped his pads with the bat, letting the umpire know about his anger.