Former India head coach and leg-spinner Anil Kumble celebrated his 49th birthday on Thusda and wishes poured in for 'Jumbo'.
Many India cricketers, past and present took to Twitter to extend birthday wishes for the spinner who has more than 600 Test wickets to his credit.
Former opening batsman Virender Sehwag sent in a quirky birthday wish for Kumble as he reminded the spinner how he deprived him of a century.
Kumble was nearing his ton in Test cricket and he went into the lunch break just a few runs away from the magical 100-run mark. In an interview, Kumble had revealed that Sehwag told him to just look for a boundary to get to the 100-run mark.
But as fate had it, Kumble went for the big shot, but got dismissed in the nineties.
"One of India's greatest ever Match winners and a terrific role model. Sorry for depriving you of your second century @anilkumble1074 Bhai. But I pray that you score a century in real life. Only 51 more to go. come on ..come on Anil Bhai! Happy Birthday," Sehwag tweeted.
Former batsman and current BJP lawmaker Gautam Gambhir called Kumble the biggest match-winner for the country and tweeted: "Birthday wishes to India's greatest match-winner @anilkumble1074! Have learnt so much from you and you are the best leader that I have played under! Thanks for inspiring generations of cricketers".
"Wishing you a very special birthday and a wonderful year ahead @anilkumble1074 May God shower you with blessings today and always and I am sure this special day will bring you endless joy and tons of precious memories," former middle-order batsman VVS Laxman tweeted.
"Greatest spinner ever played the game. biggest match-winner for india.. happy birthday @anilkumble1074 my bowling partner and guru," India spinner Harbhajan Singh tweeted.
"Many more happy returns of the day to India's greatest match-winner @anilkumble1074 Bhai. May you continue to inspire and have a healthy and joyful life ahead," former cricketer Mohammad Kaif tweeted.
Last week, Kumble was appointed the head coach of the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kings XI Punjab for the 2020 edition.
The 49-year-old was also being put in charge of "all cricket-related affairs" of the team for the foreseeable future, co-owner of the franchise Mohit Burman had confirmed.
The appointment makes Kumble the only Indian coach in the IPL, ESPNcricinfo had reported on Friday.
Kumble finished his career with 619 Test wickets and 337 ODI wickets. His tally of 619 Test wickets is the most by an Indian bowler.
The spinner also took ten wickets in an innings against Pakistan in 1999, becoming only the second cricketer in history after Jim Laker to take all ten wickets in an innings.
Kumble also coached the Indian cricket team for a brief period of time. Under him, India won Test series against West Indies, New Zealand, England, Bangladesh and Australia.
In 2015, he was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.
