Gavaskar hailed Apte as a "true aficionado" of the sport and said he would miss the "enlightening cricket talk" they used to have at the latter's home.
It is difficult to explain why someone, who scored three half-centuries and a 163 against the deadly West Indies in their own backyard during a 1952-53 series, played only one Test after that.
Madhav Apte played seven Tests for India, five of which were against West Indies at home. In his seven Tests, he scored 542 runs at an outstanding average of 49.27.
Apte died after suffering a cardiac arrest in Mumbai on Monday morning. He was 86.
Madhav Apte played seven Test matches for India between 1952-1953, and remains the first Indian opener to score over 400 runs in a series.
Mumbai: Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar said luck played a big part earlier in his cricketing career which spanned over 16 years from making his Test debut in March, 1971 to playing his last One-Day-International (ODI)
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