Gavaskar celebrates 60th birthday in Puttaparthi

Anantapur:

Away from the hustle-bustle of city life, Legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar on Friday celebrated his 60th birthday in a sober fashion by visiting the Ashram of Satya Sai Baba at Puttaparthi.

Accompanied by wife Marshniel, son Rohan and his brother-in-law Gundappa Viswanath, Gavaskar reached Puttaparthi from Bangalore this morning and attended the Bhajan in the serene ashram of Sai Baba.

"I am delighted to be here. There could not have been a better way to celebrate my 60th birthday then being present here and getting Baba's darshan and blessings. This is ultimate for me and I feel very fortunate to be here," Gavaskar said.

The former Indian skipper had a distinguished career adorned with many landmarks and Gavaskar said he doesn't regret anything in life.

"I Won't say I regret. May be, I could have handled certain things better in life. In certain matches, if I had kept my cool and had been temperamentally good, it could have been a different thing altogether," said Gavaskar, who was the first batsman ever to reach 10,000 runs in the history of cricket.

Gavaskar was the epitome of copybook batting as he scored 10,122 runs from 125 Tests with a then record of 34 Test tons in an international career spanning 16 years.

The diminutive cricketer-turned-columnist and commentator was also the first batsman to surpass Sir Donald Bradman's 29 centuries in Tests.

One of the greatest opening batsmen of all time, Gavaskar was concentration personified, who defence was almost unbreachable, making him the most prized scalp of his time.

He played a stellar role with Dilip Sardesai and Eknath Solkar to help India to a historic series victory in the Caribbean under the leadership of Ajit Wadekar.

The Mumbai icon, who lived by the virtue of discipline and professionalism, also showed his prowess in the one-day format, although it was not considered his forte.

He was the part of 1983 World Cup winning squad and also shone in the 1987 World Cup match against New Zealand. Controversies also had their own share in Gavaskar's career.

His first visit to England in 1971 saw him collide with rival fast bowler John Snow on the pitch while taking a run and the Indian opener was sent sprawling as a result.

Four years later, he scored an inexplicable 36 not out in 60 overs in the first World Cup, against England, and was reprimanded for it by the Cricket Board following an adverse report by team manager G S Ramchand.

Gavaskar also showed his hot-headed streak when he very nearly made India the first country to forfeit a Test match in 1981, the dubious distinction later attained by arch-rivals Pakistan.