Sachin Tendulkar posts 71st birthday wish for 'idol' Sunil Gavaskar, fans compare legends

Legendary Indian batsman and former captain Sachin Tendulkar took to Twitter to wish cricketer-turned-commentator Sunil Gavaskar on his birthday. Sunil Gavaskar, a former Indian captain and a batting icon himself, turned 71 on Friday, July 10. Over the years, Sachin Tendulkar has repeatedly praised the 1983 World Cup-winner and even through his latest post, he referred the 71-year old as his “idol”.

Sunil Gavaskar birthday: BCCI wishes the legendary cricketer

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Sunil Gavaskar birthday: Sachin Tendulkar’s special wish for the batting icon

Through his tweet, Sachin Tendulkar shared a picture of himself standing alongside Sunil Gavaskar during the 2019 World Cup in England. In the caption, he wrote that he met his “idol” for the first time in 1987 as a 13-year-old. Sachin Tendulkar mentioned that he always looked up to Sunil Gavaskar and further wished the batting great “a very happy 71st birthday”.

Sunil Gavaskar birthday: Sachin Tendulkar wishes Sunil Gavaskar

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Fans of the two cricketers also took to Twitter and compared the batting legends on the occasion. Here is a look at some of the fan reactions where they compared the two former cricketers on the Sunil Gavaskar birthday occasion.

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Sunil Gavaskar talks about seeing Sachin Tendulkar for the first time

In August 2017, Sunil Gavaskar interacted with Gaurav Kapur on Oaktree Sports’ show Breakfast with Champions where he talked about seeing Sachin Tendulkar for the first time in 1987. In the show, he said that he specifically went to see a young talent named Sachin Tendulkar bat in the nets because he had heard so many good things about him. Sunil Gavaskar praised the then youngster by saying he was toying with the fast bowlers in the nets, even though the pacers were bowling from 18 yards in comparison to 22 yards.

Sachin Tendulkar centuries and Sunil Gavaskar centuries

A sheer number of Sunil Gavaskar centuries in Tests (34) places him among the all-time greats of the game. Sachin Tendulkar made his international debut in 1989, i.e. two years after Gavaskar’s retirement, and he remained one of the mainstays of the Indian batting order till 2013. The 2011 World Cup-winning cricketer scored 100 international centuries and stockpiled more than 34,000 international runs. The Sachin Tendulkar centuries stats place him at the top of the leading century-makers list of all time.

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Image credit: Sachin Tendulkar Twitter