diff --git a/src/core/lib/iomgr/ev_epoll1_linux.c b/src/core/lib/iomgr/ev_epoll1_linux.c
index 8db4a92453b..dc48d73df90 100644
--- a/src/core/lib/iomgr/ev_epoll1_linux.c
+++ b/src/core/lib/iomgr/ev_epoll1_linux.c
@@ -1030,6 +1030,12 @@ static const grpc_event_engine_vtable vtable = {
 /* It is possible that GLIBC has epoll but the underlying kernel doesn't.
  * Create a dummy epoll_fd to make sure epoll support is available */
 const grpc_event_engine_vtable *grpc_init_epoll1_linux(bool explicit_request) {
+  /* TODO(sreek): Temporarily disable this poller unless explicitly requested
+   * via GRPC_POLL_STRATEGY */
+  if (!explicit_request) {
+    return NULL;
+  }
+
   if (!grpc_has_wakeup_fd()) {
     return NULL;
   }