Brian Lara takes Sachin Tendulkar by surprise with unique birthday wish as he turns 48

West Indies legend Brian Lara has come forward and wished his long-time rival on the field and a good friend of it- Sachin Tendulkar as he turned 48 on Saturday. Both Lara and Sachin are two of the best batsmen in the history of the game and hold numerous batting records in their name.

Lara's unique birthday wish for Sachin

Taking to the micro-blogging site, the 'Prince of Trinidad' had posted a video from this year's Road Safety World Series where he and the Master Blaster can be seen having some fun in the middle of the wicket. The former Windies skipper captioned the post as 'Happy birthday to this gentleman on and off the field'

While Lara had led West Indies Legends in RSWS 2021, Tendulkar had captained India Legends.

Brian Lara's cricketing career

Brian Charles Lara was one of the best and the finest cricketers to play and lead the West Indies team. Under his captaincy, WI's title drought of 25 years came to an end when they won their first and only ICC Champions Trophy in 2004. Lara finished his cricketing career as one of the best in the business with some phenomenal records to his name.

Nicknamed 'The Prince of Trinidad', Lara represented West Indies for 17 years. He became the youngest captain for the team of Trinidad and Tobago at just the age of 20. He made his Test debut for the West Indies side the same year against Pakistan in Lahore, where he registered scores of 44 and 6. Right after the Test, he had to return to the domestic circuit and only became a regular once Richards retired. 

In his three captaincy stints, the team didn't really shine, but the greatest feat for him as a captain was when he led his side to win the ICC Champions Trophy in 2004. He hung his gloriously worn boots after the '07 World Cup. Lara's score of 400 against England in 2004 remains the highest individual Test score to date.

Sachin Tendulkar's illustrious & successful cricketing career

Considered to be one of the greatest players to have ever played the game, the batting maestro is widely regarded as the ‘God of Cricket’. It is worth mentioning that the Master Blaster is also the leading run-scorer in Test matches and ODIs. The prolific run-scorer announced his retirement from all formats of the game in 2013 when he played his last game against West Indies at his home ground. Considered to be the backbone of the Indian batting order, the player has contributed significantly towards the success of Indian cricket. Tendulkar has received a number of national honours in his glorious career. 

Sachin Tendulkar received the prestigious 'Arjuna Award' back in 1994 at the age of 21, making him the youngest recipient of the award. The Indian government once again acknowledged the player's consistent performance in international cricket and presented him with the ‘Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna’. The particular award is considered as a career-defining moment for an athlete, as it is the highest honour an Indian sportsperson could achieve in his career. 

The celebrated cricketer also received the country's fourth-highest civilian award – ‘Padma Shri’ after his heroics in the 1999's ICC Cricket World Cup. In the coming years, the Sachin Tendulkar awards got further decorated with the ‘Maharashtra Bhushan Award’ in 2001, which is also the state’s highest civilian award, and ‘Padma Vibhushan’ in 2008, the second-highest civilian award in the country. He also achieved the ‘Bharat Ratna’ in 2014, which is India’s highest civilian award.

(Image Courtesy: PTI/Instagram@BrianLaraOfficial)