My stand vindicated: Durrani On Gavaskar Walkout

LUCKNOW: A day after Sunil Gavaskar on a TV channel regretted his infamous "walkout" incident during the Melbourne Test in 1981, one man who feels vindicated is the then team manager Wing Commander Shahid Ali Khan Durrani, who had averted an ugly situation. The Lucknow-based Durrani, who retired as Group Captain after a long stint with the Air Force and UP-government run Uptron, told TOI that once back in the pavilion, the Indian skipper had regretted the incident."But, to my knowledge, this is the first time he has done so in public."
Durrani said he was worried when he saw the attempted walkout. "It was obvious to me from the dressing room that non-striker Chetan Chauhan was reluctant to leave the field, but Gavaskar gave him a mild push. When I saw what was happening, I rushed to the outfield from the dressing room, taking next man Dilip Vengsarkar along with me," he said.
"By the time I reached the outfield, both Gavaskar and Chauhan were just about a few metres from the boundary. This is when I ordered Chauhan back to the crease and sent Vengsarkar in. Fortunately for India, a very ugly situation was averted which could have caused India and the BCCI a great deal of embarrassment." Durrani had termed Gavaskar's behaviour "deplorable" in his manager's report then.
"In the dressing room, I talked to Gavaskar and prevailed upon him to forget the incident and to get on with the game. He realised his mistake and the game proceeded without any more untoward incidents," he said. "I had strongly recommended that the BCCI should ask Gavaskar for an explanation and take action against him."