Gavaskar turns 61 on Saturday

By Qaiser Mohammad Ali

Sunil Manohar Gavaskar, my childhood cricket hero, turned 61 on Saturday. As usual, I have sent him a mail on his birthday, and am awaiting his reply. Much like his habit of replying to his fan mail in his own hand writing, he always replies e-mail messages.

Gavaskar mesmerised millions of cricket fans around the world, including me, during his long and successful international career. A graduate from St Xavier's College, Mumbai, and Bombay University, the master opening batsman tallied 10,122 runs in 125 Tests and 3,092 runs in 108 One-day Internationals.