Sunil Gavaskar Turns 71: Wishes Pour In For 'Little Master' On Indian Cricket Great's Birthday

Gavaskar was the lynch pin of the Indian batting along with the likes of Gundappa Vishwanath and Dilip Vengsarkar for over two decades, amassing runs at a staggering consistency both at home and on foreign tours. He is best remembered for scoring a plethora of runs against the much famed Windies pace battery of the 70s and 80s.

Sunil Gavaskar Questions Dhoni's Long Absence From Team India/ Photo: AFP

Sunil Gavaskar, one of India's finest exponents of the willow turned 71 on Friday. Gavaskar was greeted by fans, his former team mates, present Indian cricketers and family on his 71st birthday. Before the arrival of Sachin Tendulkar on the scene, Gavaskar was widely regarded the best batsman to come out of Indian cricket. Popularly nicknamed the 'Little Master', Gavaskar was known for his stoic defence and solid technique while opening the batting for the Indians in both forms of the game in the mid 70s and 80s. Gavaskar was the lynch pin of the Indian batting along with the likes of Gundappa Vishwanath and Dilip Vengsarkar for over two decades, amassing runs at a staggering consistency both at home and on foreign tours. He is best remembered for scoring a plethora of runs against the much famed Windies pace battery of the 70s and 80s. Happy Birthday to the former team India captain and batting legend, Sunil Gavaskar", wrote BCCI. Sunil Gavaskar, who has held multiple batting records, is rated as one of the finest batsmen to have ever played the game.

???? First batsman to score 10,000 Test runs ???? First batsman to score centuries in both innings of a Test thrice ???? Held the record for most number of Test tons until 2005 ???? First India fielder to claim 100 Test catches

Happy birthday to legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar ???? pic.twitter.com/eyMqeSf54n — ICC (@ICC) July 10, 2020

Gavaskar achieved many lofty heights in a stellar international cricketer and become the first batsman in Test cricket to score 10,000 Test runs. Making his Test debut for India in 1971, the technically sound right hander scored knocks of 65 and unbeaten 67 runs in both innings. In his very first Test series he shot into instant fame notching up 771 runs against the mighty Windies. In 125 Test matches, Gavaskar scored a whopping 10122 runs at an astonishing average of 51.12. Gavaskar also held the record for most centuries in Test cricket - 34 for many years, until Tendulkar broke it in 2005. Gavaskar also had an eventful ODI career in which he scored 3092 in 108 games at an average of 35.13. He was part of Kapil Devil's who lifted India's first World Cup in 1983.