Irfan Pathan unveils less documented side of Sunil Gavaskar as Little Master turns 74

Legendary India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar is celebrating his 74^th birthday on July 10, 2023, as the entire cricketing fraternity is wishing the batting maestro. Several former cricketers extended their warm wishes to Gavaskar on his special day, while former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan shared a special video of the legend.

In the video, the former India captain can be seen playing ‘catch-catch’ with a kid. The 74-year-old put his sharp reflexes on display as he caught the ball coming in at lightning-fast speeds to his right. Later in the short clip, the 1983 World Cup winner could also be seen playing some tricks with the child to make him drop a catch.

Pathan took to Instagram to share the video and wrote, “Wishing our first batting legend @gavaskarsunilofficial sir a very happy birthday. May you always stay fit. By the way this catching will put some youngsters to shame. #happybirthday.”

Sunil Gavaskar made his debut during a Test series against West Indies in March 1971. He represented India in 125 Tests and 108 ODIs. At the time of his retirement, he scored 3092 runs in 108 ODIs at an average of 35.13 with one hundred and 27 fifties to his name.

In Tests, he broke the record of Geoffrey Boycott (8114 runs) to become the highest run scorer (10,122 runs) in the format. The record was later broken by Allan Border, who finished his career with 11,174 runs.

Gavaskar led India to victory in World Championship of Cricket in 1985

The batting maverick also got the record for most centuries in the longest format of the game against his name as he surpassed Don Bradman’s tally of 29 hundreds. Gavaskar finished his career with 34 hundreds which was later surpassed by Sachin Tendulkar (51 centuries).

Gavaskar also led India in 47 Tests and 37 ODIs, winning nine and 14 matches, respectively, in the two formats. Under his leadership, India won the World Championship of Cricket in 1985 by beating Pakistan in the final by eight wickets.