Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar on Monday said that he could not believe he has turned 44 as he celebrated his birthday in front of thousands of adoring fans at the Wankhede Stadium here.
Tendulkar cut a cake during the IPl match between Mumbai Indians and Rising Pune Supergiant as the stadium reverberated with chants of 'happy birthday Sachin'.
Tendulkar is currently MI's mentor and he played for the franchise for six seasons from 2008 to 2013.
Asked by former Australia opening batsman Matthew Hayden to cut the bat on top of the cake along with a ball, Tendulkar said, "You never cut a cricket bat...Will cut the outfield to open up the gaps."
"Being 44 is nice but also covering those 44 years (has been nice). My movie is probably coming out on May 26th and I have been busy these days to ensure how best it is launched. I can't believe I am 44."
The legendary batsman said that he never thought IPl would become so big as it is today when it was launched 10 years back. "I never thought it will become so big. The way it has taken off it's remarkable. In these 10 years, people have become connected to their clubs and backing their players. Moreover, families have started attending the matches.
Meanwhile, Tendulkar was flooded with wishes from the cricketing fraternity across the globe.
Indian captain Virat Kohli led the pack in wishing Tendulkar on the occasion.
"Happy B'day Paaji IJIJIJIJ. May God bless you with more happiness and peace in life. My cricket hero always," Kohli tweeted.
In his congratulatory message for Tendulkar, the dashing Virender Sehwag wrote: "To a man who could stop time in India, #HappyBirthday Sachin @sachin_rt."
Indian off-spinner R Ashwin quipped that April 24 could be declared the 'Indian Cricket Day'. "Many more happy returns of the day @sachin_rt , April 24th should be marked as Indian cricket day. I was lucky to have played along side you," he tweeted.