MUMBAI: As former India captain Sunil Gavaskar turned 74 today, actor Jackie Shroff shared a special wish for his “real hero” on social media.
Jackie took to Instagram and shared an old picture featuring himself and Gavaskar.
Sharing the picture, he wrote, “Happy birthday to my real hero @gavaskarsunilofficial.”
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, also known by the nicknames ‘Sunny’ and ‘Little Master’, is doublessly among the greatest Indian cricketers to have graced the gentleman’s game.
The diminutive opener, who burst into the cricketing spotlight in his debut Test series overseas against the mighty West Indies, fronting up to the fiery Caribbean quicks, broke numerous batting records while setting new ones over the course of a spectacular career.
Several of his historic and heroic innings in cricket’s logest and, arguably, the toughest format, came between 1971 and 1987. Through his many memeorable knocks, which came on some of the least hospitable surfaces, got him among the pantheon of legends.
Having learned his first lessons with the willow in the dustbowls of Mumbai, the city he was born, Sunny was as much at home playing on some of the bounciest strips in the Caribbean as he was on rank turners of the Indian sub-continent.
A distinguished member of India’s maiden World Cup winning squad of 1983, Gahaskar once held the record for scoring the most centuries in Tests. The Mumbaikar, who scored more than 10,000 runs in red-ball cricket, brought curtains to his career with 45 half-centuries and 34 centuries against his name.
While his exploits with the willow is the stuff of legends, he was shrewd fielder and a leader too.
Not counting wicketkeepers, he was the first Indian fielder to have achieved a milestone of a century of catches in Test cricket.
For the record, he took an incredible 108 catches in his Test career.
Coming back to Jackie Shroff’s work front, he will be seen in ‘Jailer’ starring Rajnikanth in the lead role, this movie also includes stars like Ramya Krishnan, Priyanka Arul Mohan and Shiva Rajkumar and Tamannaah Bhatia. The ‘Lingaa’ actor has teamed up with filmmaker Nelson Dilipkumar for this project.
He will be next seen in ‘Baap’ alongside Sunny Deol, Sanjay Dutt, Jackie Shroff and Mithun Chakraborty. (ANI)