Former India captain and one of the greatest batsmen the world has ever seen, Sunil Gavaskar, turns 72 on Saturday. Also referred to as Sunny, Gavaskar was pivotal to India’s rise as a cricketing nation in the '70s and '80s, standing up to the fearsome West Indies fast bowlers and that too without a helmet.
Gavaskar was the first batsman to cross the 10,000-run mark in Test cricket and also held the record for the most Test hundreds (34) before it was broken by another Mumbai legend, Sachin Tendulkar.
A member of the 1983 World Cup-winning squad, Gavaskar finished with Test career with 10,122 runs from 125 Tests at an average of 51.12. He also scored 3092 runs in 108 ODIs at an average of 35.13, with his lone hundred coming against New Zealand in the 1987 World Cup. Post retirement, he successfully switched to commentary and is renowned for his incisive analysis on the game.
Wishes poured in for Gavaskar on the occasion of his 72nd birthday on Saturday from fans as well as the cricketing fraternity. Here is a compilation of some tweets from social media.
Many more happy returns of the day to my childhood hero and inspiration, Sunil Gavaskar.
He instilled courage and belief in many young Indian batsmen to face the best bowlers in the world fearlessly. Have a great day and year ahead, Sunny Bhai ! pic.twitter.com/QqfWTHYR90
Happy B'day Greatest Sunil Gavaskar 🎂
06-03-1971 : Sunil Gavaskar Scored his First Test Runs. First to Score 10000 Test runs.
06-03-1990 : Sachin Tendulkar Scored his First ODI runs. First to Score 10000 ODI runs.
Little Master & Master Blaster 🙏🏼#SunilGavaskar pic.twitter.com/iWc4neC5Jk
A man whose is known for his nimble footwork at the crease, but his sense of humour is no less.. Ask him the best approach to handle fast bowlers, he will say, "stay at the non strikers end". Then he will give you a great masterclass.
Happy birthday #SunilGavaskar #numerouno
1983 World Cup-winner 🏆
233 international games 👌
13,214 international runs 💪
First batsman to register 10,000 runs in Tests 🔝
Here's wishing Sunil Gavaskar - former #TeamIndia captain & one of the finest batsmen to have ever graced the game - a very happy birthday. 🎂 👏 pic.twitter.com/8tQeMlCbSn
The original 'Little Master' was born today 72 years back...Be it the 'straight drive' from his willow, his sharp commentary, his crisp writing in his autobiography SUNNY DAYS or his swaggy walk, he excluded class ! Wishing #SunilGavaskar a very happy birthday !@rohangava9 pic.twitter.com/hjscvdLp2X
— Kalpesh Ashar (@kalpesh_ashar) July 10, 2021Happy 72nd birthday to the batting legend of Indian Cricket and the 1st ever batsman to score 10,000 Test runs. The sheer courage you showed while facing the fierest bowlers will always remain unmatched.Wish you a great health and prosperity Shri #SunilGavaskar pic.twitter.com/rfqIoxnvjg
— Jay Shah (@JayShah) July 10, 2021Sunil Gavaskar recently attended Wimbledon with Dinesh Karthik
Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik and Gavaskar were at Wimbledon on Friday to catch some live action from the world’s premier tennis tournament. Both Karthik and Gavaskar are in the UK on commentary duty. Sharing a picture from Wimbledon with Gavaskar, Karthik tweeted:
“Wimble-Done #Wimbledon #Wimbledon2021.”Gavaskar’s son Rohan trolled Karthik with a light-hearted tweet, pointing out that the keeper-batsman first replaced him in the Indian team and now at Wimbledon. Rohan's tweet read:
“When dk made his debut for India , he took my spot in the playing 11 against England. He has now taken my spot at Wimbledon too. Hope you guys had some strawberries and cream and washed it down with some pimms, buddy.”Rohan played 11 ODIs for India and scored 151 runs with one half-century, failing to replicate the success of his legendary father.
When dk made his debut for India , he took my spot in the playing 11 against England . He has now taken my spot at Wimbledon too 😂😂. Hope you guys had some strawberries and cream and washed it down with some pimms , buddy . https://t.co/4xyLEWNN9a
— Rohan Gavaskar (@rohangava9) July 9, 2021More than three decades after his retirement, Sunil Gavaskar remains a role model for many budding cricketers, especially in India. Another Indian legend, Tendulkar has often described Gavaskar as his hero.
