"Indian cricket owes a lot for your services" - Indian cricket fraternity and fans wish Sunil Gavaskar on his 75th birthday

Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar celebrates his 75th birthday today (July 10) and the occasion had fans and cricketers extending their best wishes. Considered to be arguably the greatest Test batter of all time, Gavaskar was the original 'Little Master' of cricket.

He was also the first-ever cricketer to breach the 10,000-run mark in Tests, finishing with 10,122 runs in 125 games. Gavaskar is the 13th leading run-scorer in Test history and third from India behind only Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.

The champion batter also holds the record for the most runs by an Indian batter in a Test series with 774 in the 1970/71 tour of West Indies. In an era of domination by the West Indies and their bowlers, Gavaskar averaged an incredible 65.45 in 27 Tests, with 13 of his 13 centuries coming against them.

Several former Indian cricketers and fans wished one of India's finest cricketing legends on his 75th birthday with the following reactions:

Apart from cricketers, fans also wished Gavaskar on this special occasion with one saying:

"Many happy returns of the day to the great Sunil Gavaskar, easily the finest batsman produced by Asia. A magnificent exponent of his prodigal art and a timeless ambassador of the game."

"Happy birthday to one of the finest test batsmen and openers ever, Sunil Gavaskar! Immaculate technique and great vs both pace and spin," said a fan.

"Happy Birthday to the original Little Master, Sunil Gavaskar! Your batting skills made bowlers wish they were on a coffee break. May your day be as timeless as your records!" tweeted a fan.

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"If you guys wouldn’t tell me, I wouldn’t even know that I have touched 75" - Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar said in an interview about how batters in cricket only know when they are closer to a 50 or 100 and not 75, he felt the same about his 75th birthday.

Following an illustrious career, the 75-year-old is still going strong as one of the most respected voices in the commentary box.

On his 75th birthday, Sunil Gavaskar told Hindustan Times:

"When I was playing, I didn’t even know when I would reach 75. On 50, people would applaud. When you are closer to 100, there would be anticipation. With 75, if you guys wouldn’t tell me, I wouldn’t even know that I have touched 75."

He also thanked the Indian 2024 T20 World Cup-winning team for the ultimate birthday gift.

"Oh, I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday gift than what Rohit Sharma and his boys gave me. I am still on a high," added Gavaskar.

Gavaskar was part of India's first World Cup-winning team in 1983 and played in the first four editions from 1975 to 1987.

Apart from a stellar Test career, the legendary cricketer also played 108 ODIs for India, scoring over 3,000 runs at an average of 35.13.