Cricketers pay tribute after football icon Pele's untimely demise

Brazil great and three-time World Cup winner Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pele, passed away at the age of 82 after an ill-fated fight with cancer. He bid farewell to his family and friends before taking his last breath at the Albert Einstein Hospital on Thursday in his hometown Sao Paulo. 

Widely regarded as the greatest footballer of all time, Pele rose to fame after signing for Santos at the age of 15. The following year, he shattered records after scoring 58 league goals in a single season for Santos, a record that stands to date. However, it was the 1958 World Cup that elevated the Brazilian at the global stage. 

Pele netted six times at the global mega event, including twice in the final of the competition to hand his country their first-ever World Cup title. His monumental success at just 17 made him the youngest player ever to score in the World Cup final, and the youngest player ever to lift the coveted title. Brazil defended the crown in 1962, but their star player featured only twice in the competition due to an injury.

His fourth and last World Cup in 1970, proved to be his greatest, as he gave a befitting reply to his doubters after lifting his third World Cup title, the most by any footballer. His ingenious pass to Carlos Alberto's iconic goal in the final against Sweden is regarded as one of the greatest moves in the history of the competition. He scored 12 goals across four tournaments and won three titles for Brazil.

While his legacy faced stiff competition from another South American superstar Diego Maradona, Pele's relatively scandal-free playing career propelled him to godly status in the game. The whole world was in mourning after his untimely demise, and cricketers from around the globe paid tribute to the icon who made people fall in love with the game.

Here is how Twitter reacted after the untimely demise of Pele: