Happy Birthday Sunil Gavaskar: 'He had swag before swag was a word', wishes pour in as former India captain turns 72

Former Indian cricket team captain and legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar is celebrating his 72nd birthday today, 10 July. He is regarded as one of the best opening batsmen in the history of Test cricket who set records for most Test centuries scored by any batsman and most Test runs during his career. Gavaskar scored 10,122 runs with 34 hundreds in 123 Tests he played for Team India. In the ODI format, he played 108 matches and scored 3,092 runs. He was also a part of the 1983 team that won the historic World Cup at the Lord’s cricket ground in London under the leadership of Kapil Dev. He was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame in 2009 and is a recipient of the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan. The former cricketer is now a well-known cricket commentator. As he turns a year older today, wishes are pouring in since morning for the former cricketer on social media. Many cricketers and club franchises wished Gavaskar on his 72nd birthday. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was among the first ones to wish the legend on his birthday. The board tweeted, “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”.

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

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 10, 2021

Sharing a video message on Twitter, Sachin Tendulkar wished Gavaskar “a year full of good health and happiness”.

Happy Birthday Gavaskar Sir.
Wishing you a year full of good health and happiness. pic.twitter.com/LMyzkbOrDT

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) July 10, 2021

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Wishing Gavaskar in his unique style, former cricketer Virender Sehwag revealed that the legendary cricketer used to say “chal phut!” to bowlers who used to try their best to get him out. “Happy Birthday to the legend, Sunny Bhai. Aise hi fodte rahiye,” he added.

Chal Phut. This is what the great #SunilGavaskar said to bowlers trying their best to get him out.
Happy Birthday to the legend, Sunny Bhai. Aise hi fodte rahiye :) pic.twitter.com/6H54N9wunF

— Virrender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) July 10, 2021

Wishing his “childhood hero and inspiration,” former Indian batsmen VVS Laxman shared that Gavaskar was the one who instilled belief and courage in many young Indian batsmen to face the best bowlers across the world fearlessly.

Among the many wishes, Harbhajan Singh too took to Twitter and wished happiness and great health for Gavaskar. Take a look at a few more birthday wishes below:

My inspiration, my idol!
Watching you play cricket, sparked dreams of being a cricketer in many, and I was one of them. Wishing you a very happy birthday Gavaskar sir.#SunilGavaskar pic.twitter.com/AC8kUFWL8g

— Vinod Kambli (@vinodkambli349) July 10, 2021

Happy Birthday to the evergreen #legend of #IndianCricket. The sheer courage you showed while facing the 'express' fast bowlers in such difficult wickets without helmet, will always remain unmatched. 🏏🇮🇳
Happy Birthday #SunilGavaskar Sir! Stay Happy & healthy!#happybirthday pic.twitter.com/dl83eXY4eg

— MANOJ TIWARY (@tiwarymanoj) July 10, 2021