Sachin Tendulkar gives epic reply after ICC refers to Master Blaster as an 'occasional bowler'
The ICC, in their birthday tweet to Sachin, called Tendulkar an occasional bowler, to which the Master Blaster came up with an epic reply.
The world celebrated as Sachin Tendulkar turned 49 on Sunday. Wishes poured in from all corners of the world as the Master Blaster celebrated his birthday. The likes of Virender Sehwag, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Virat Kohli shared their birthday wishes on social media platforms, and while most were heart-warming, there were a few that left a bad taste in the mouth.
England's Barmy Army landed in hot waters as Indian fans slammed their post on Tendulkar’s birthday. Barmy Army had posted a picture of Tendulkar walking back to the change room after getting out, with a bunch of England players celebrating in the background. The tweet did not sit well with a lot of fans as Twitter users lashed out at them, some even asking the fan group to apologise.
In another post, the ICC posted a video of Tendulkar the bowler, highlighting a video package comprising some of the Master Blaster’s most memorable dismissals inflicted. “One of the greatest batters that India ever produced. But also an entertaining occasional bowler. Happy birthday @Sachin_rt,” the ICC tweeted,
Tendulkar came up with a witty reply, saying: "Taking wickets was equally fun as scoring runs. Thanks for the wishes."
Apart from holding numerous batting records of over 34000 international runs and 100 centuries, Tendulkar was a pretty handy bowler taking 200 wickets. In ODIs, Tendulkar picked 154 wickets with his off-spin, leg-spin and medium pace including two five-wicket-hauls – against Australia and Pakistan in 1998 and 2005 respectively at Kochi.
Some of Tendulkar’s heroics with the ball include the famous last-over of the 1993 Hero Cup final between India and South Africa. With West Indies needing six runs to win, Tendulkar bowled a memorable over, conceding just three and helping India register a narrow two-run win. Then there was the famous googly in the Multan Test against Pakistan in 2004. Off the final ball of the day, Tendulkar castled Moin Khan with a ball that spun sharply through the pads and rattled the middle and leg stump.