Bengaluru: Former India captain and batting legend Sunil Gavaskar turned 70 today (July 10). Fans and former cricketers took to social media to wish Gavaskar on Wednesday.

Gavaskar, who was born on July 10, 1949 in Bombay (Mumbai), was the first batsman to score 10,000 Test runs. He played 125 Tests (10,122 runs, 34 centuries) in his illustrious career. He also featured in 108 ODIs (3,092 runs, one hundred) and was part of India’s World Cup winning team in 1983.

After retirement from the game, Gavaskar has been involved with cricket in various capacities. He has been a TV commentator, columnist and administrator. He also served as chairman of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) cricket committee.

He was also president, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Indian Premier League (IPL) for the cash-rich T20 tournament when it was held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2014.

In the 1970s and 80s, Gavaskar was a great opening batsman, facing the most fearsome fast bowlers from the West Indies, that too without proper helmets. He made his Test debut in 1971 on the tour to the West Indies. He scored a record 774 runs in the four-match series.

On March 7, 1987, Gavaskar became the first batsman in history to score 10,000 Test runs. He achieved the landmark in a match against Pakistan at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad.