The legendary Sunil Gavaskar was overwhelmed with the love and wishes that came his way on his birthday on Saturday. Gavaskar, a former India captain turned 72 on July 10, 2011 and fans and players – current and former alike – conveyed their good wishes to the original Little Master.
Gavaskar, who does not have a Twitter handle or a Facebook page, shared a message for all the wonderful people through his son Rohan's handle. In a video clip uploaded by Rohan, Gavaskar thanked his well-wishers.
"Thank you for all your warm birthday wishes. It is much appreciated. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the greetings, good wishes and sentiments that you have sent on my birthday. Your good wishes and greetings mean a great deal to me. They have sustained me during the times I have played for the country and, particularly, during the bad times. Without you, without Indian cricket, I would be nowhere," Gavaskar said.
The first player to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket, Gavaskar is arguably considered the best Test batsman of all time and certainly India's best opening batsman. In his debut series, Gavaskar marked his arrival in international cricket by scoring 774 runs against West Indies in 1971. It is still a record for the most runs by a batsman playing his first Test series.
{{/usCountry}}The first player to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket, Gavaskar is arguably considered the best Test batsman of all time and certainly India's best opening batsman. In his debut series, Gavaskar marked his arrival in international cricket by scoring 774 runs against West Indies in 1971. It is still a record for the most runs by a batsman playing his first Test series.
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He retired from cricket in 1987 and continued to win hearts as an analyst, writing and commentating on the sport, and Gavaskar expressed his gratefulness for the love people have showered him with over the last countless years.
"Thank you for being with me all these years and wishing me not just on my birthday but for every day of my life. I hope and pray that your good wishes will continue to be with me and the Gavaskar family and, particularly, with Indian cricket," Gavaskar expressed.