Sachin Tendulkar, the only player in the history of cricket to have scored 100 international hundreds, took to Twitter to thank his fans for their "wonderful" birthday wishes while urging them not to go out as the country battles against the coronavirus pandemic. "Thank you for all your wonderful wishes. You always prayed for me to stay at the crease and not get out. My only wish for all of you today is that you too don't get out. #StayHome and stay healthy," Sachin Tendulkar tweeted.
On Friday, Tendulkar celebrated his 47th birthday amid the nationwide lockdown that is in place until May 3 to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
Recently, Tendulkar announced that he will be feeding 5,000 people for a month.
Tendulkar, much like other former and current cricketers across the globe, is spending time at home amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Due to the ongoing health crisis, many major sporting events are either cancelled or postponed as a precautionary measure.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) also postponed the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League until further notice on April 16.
In March this year, the Indian batting great had donated Rs 25 lakh each to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund and the Chief Minister of Maharashtra's Relief Fund to aid the battle against COVID-19.
Tendulkar was also among the 40 elite sportspersons with whom PM Narendra Modi had a video conference to discuss the prevailing situation on April 3.
The coronavirus has affected more than 2.8 million people worldwide while in India, the number of cases are over 24,500.