Sachin Tendulkar pens touching birthday note for daughter Sara: 'Love you'

NEW DELHI: Legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has shared a heartfelt birthday message for his daughter, Sara Tendulkar, on social media, offering a warm glimpse into the bond between the father and daughter.

Rather than a simple greeting, the batting great penned a moving note about watching his daughter grow up and find her own way in the world.

"There was a time when I was the one showing you the way. Now, more often than not, I'm simply happy to see where you choose to go. Happy birthday, Sara. Love you," Tendulkar wrote in his post.

The message struck a chord with fans, capturing both Tendulkar's love and his pride as Sara celebrates another birthday — a sentiment from a father who spent much of his own life being guided by the demands of an extraordinary career, and who now relishes simply watching his daughter chart her own course.

The record behind the legend

Widely regarded as one of the greatest batters in cricket history, Tendulkar's on-field numbers remain staggering. In Test cricket, he amassed 15,921 runs in 200 matches, including 51 centuries and 68 half-centuries, with a highest score of an unbeaten 248.

In One-Day Internationals, his record is even more dominant: 18,426 runs in 463 matches, featuring 49 centuries and 96 half-centuries, with a highest score of an unbeaten 200. He also made a single T20 International appearance for India in 2006, scoring 10 runs.

Those feats helped make Tendulkar a beloved figure far beyond India — and his voice still carries weight across the cricketing world, as it did recently when he praised the sport's growth internationally, writing: "There's something very special about watching cricket find new homes." But on Sara's birthday, his message was purely personal — a father's note to the daughter he once led by the hand and now follows with pride.