Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has credited Imran Khan for convincing him to continue playing, which eventually helped him reach the milestone of 10,000 Test runs.

 

While speaking on the DP World Dressing Room show with Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Fakhare Alam, Nikhil Chopra and Ajey Jadeja, Gavaskar revealed that he had planned to retire after India's tour of England in 1986, but a conversation with Imran Khan changed his mind.

 

Gavaskar recalled the conversation, saying, "I got the opportunity to do so (reach 10,000 runs in Test cricket) only because of one Imran Khan. A year before that, in England, after the first Test was won, Imran and I went with a friend to an Italian restaurant for lunch in London. I told him that this is my last series, I will quit after this series."

 

 

"He was like 'You can't do that'. I said, 'What do you mean I can't do that? It's my choice'. He said, 'No, no, Pakistan is coming to India, and I want to beat India with you playing in it. I don't want to beat India without you; it won't be the same.' I said, 'Pakistan is not coming'. He said, 'ICC meeting is happening, and you will hear the announcement next week'," Gavaskar said.

 

"I said, 'If that announcement happens, then I will carry on, but if the announcement doesn't come, I will finish after the next Test'. Sure enough, the announcement came through, so I carried on. If I had retired at that time, I would have been at 9200-9300 runs. But because Pakistan came and there were two other series in India before that, I got close to 10,000 runs," he further added.

 

Thanks to Imran Khan's advice, Gavaskar continued playing and achieved the 10,000-run milestone in Test cricket. He completed this feat during the fourth Test against Pakistan in Ahmedabad.

 

After playing the five-match home series against Pakistan, Gavaskar retired from Test cricket. He ended his career with 10,122 runs in 125 matches, at an impressive average of 51.12, including 34 centuries, which was a record at the time.