Virat Kohli leads cricket fraternity in wishing Sachin Tendulkar on 48th birthday
India's cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar, who is recovering at home after spending six days in hospital due to Covid-19, turned 48 on Saturday and wishes started pouring in from all over the world.
Indian captain Virat Kohli, who played with Tendulkar during the former's formative years in international cricket, took to Twitter to wish the legend. "One of the greatest to have ever played the game and an inspiration to many. Happy Birthday @sachin_rt paaji."
Yuvraj Singh, who shared the dressing room with Tendulkar for a majority of his career in the Indian team, shared a heartwarming video recollecting some of his moments with Tendulkar.
"Wishing the legendary master blaster @sachin_rt a very Happy Birthday! Great to see you back and fully recovered! Lots of love and best wishes Red heartHugging face #HappyBirthdaySachin," he wrote.
Ishant Sharma, who was also Tendulkar's international teammate, wrote, "Sachin paaji!! Sending you best wishes on your birthday! Praying for your good health, wealth & happiness. Happy birthday paaji! @sachin_rt."
West Indies' opening batsman Chris Gayle, who is currently in India for the 2021 Indian Premier League, wrote, "Happy birthday great one, @sachin_rt Wish you many more."
The BCCI shared the video of Sachin Tendulkar's double hundred in an ODI against South Africa in 2010. The 'Master Blaster' was the first player in men's cricket to score a double century in ODIs.
Former India pace bowler Venkatesh Prasad took to Twitter, posting pictures of some of the glorious moments he shared with the legend, and wrote, "Sach is truth, Sach is life, Sach is the answer, Sach is it. Birthday greetings to not only the greatest batsman the world has seen, but the most humble and incredible human being @sachin_rt. #HappyBirthdaySachin."
Born on April 24, 1973, the Mumbai batsman has scored a record 100 international centuries - 49 in One-day Internationals and 51 in Tests - and is the first of only four cricketers to receive the highest national sporting award, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, in 1997/98. The other three cricketers are Mahendra Singh Dhoni (2007/08), current India skipper Virat Kohli (2018) and Rohit Sharma (2020).
Tendulkar is the first and only recipient of the Bharat Ratna -- India's highest civilian honour - which he received 2013 after his retirement from international cricket.
Tendulkar, who was hospitalised to a Mumbai hospital as a precautionary measure after he tested positive for Covid-19 late last month, had returned home on April 8 to begin his recuperation.
To all his well-wishers, he wrote on April 8: "I have just come home from the hospital and will remain isolated while continuing to rest and recuperate. I would like to thank everyone for all the good wishes and prayers. Really appreciate it. I remain ever grateful to the medical staff who took such good care of me and have been working tirelessly for over a year in such difficult circumstances."
