Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh on Saturday congratulated former skipper and legendary batsman Sunil Gavaskar and thanked him for inspiring generations of cricketers as he celebrates the 50th anniversary of his Test debut.
Taking to Twitter, the former spinner wrote: "50 yrs of sunny sir.. Congratulations Sir .. thank you for inspiring generations of cricketers #50yearsofsunnysir."
Gavaskar made his Test debut on March 6, 1971, against West Indies in Port of Spain, Trinidad. Over his career, Gavaskar went on to break many batting records and established himself as one of the finest batsmen to ever play the game.
Earlier in the day, 'Master Blaster' Sachin Tendulkar thanked the batting great, saying Gavaskar showed the light to every young cricketer.
"50 years ago on this day, he took the cricketing world by storm. He scored 774 runs in his debut series and each one of us growing up had a hero to look up to. India won the series in the West Indies and then In England and all of a sudden the sport in India had a new meng," Tendulkar wrote in a Twitter post.
"As a young boy, I knew I had someone to look up to and try and be like him. That has never changed. He remains my hero. Wish you a happy 50th in international cricket, Mr. Gavaskar. To every one of the 1971 team a happy 50th Anniversary. You all made us proud and showed us the light," he added.
India toured the West Indies during the 1970-71 cricket season for a five-Test series. The series turned out to be one of the most memorable ones as India won its first-ever Test series against the West Indies.
India, led by Ajit Wadekar, emerged victorious 1-0 in the five-match series and Gavaskar finished as the leading run-scorer, registering four centuries including one double ton. In his career, Gavaskar played 125 Tests and 108 ODIs for India. He was also a part of the 1983 World Cup win and 1985 World Championship of Cricket victory.
Gavaskar scored 10,122 runs in the longest format of the game and he held the record for scoring most centuries in Test cricket till 2005. Sachin Tendulkar ended up breaking this record in 2005. In 108 ODIs, Gavaskar scored 3,092 runs with a highest score of an unbeaten 103.
( With inputs from ANI )
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