Batting legend and commentator Sunil Gavaskar, on his 71st birthday, sponsored heart surgeries for 35 children at the Sri Satya Sai Sanjeevani hospital in Kharghar, Navi Mumbai on Friday.
Gavaskar had paved the way for 34 heart surgeries on his birthday last year. Thirty five is the number of international centuries the World Cup-winner has to his name.
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“While there are many areas of need that one can serve, children have a special place of importance. They remain the joy of every family and usher in hope of a bright future that all look forward to,” Gavaskar was quoted as saying by Times of India.
Gavaskar added: “Sadly, congenital heart disease is the commonest defect at birth in India. Many have no chance to survive or live a life of dignity. And most of them are poor and care is limited in this country. The ‘heart to heart’ foundation, which I work for, provides hundreds of these children the gift of life through the Sri Satya Sai Sanjeevani centres. There, the motto is ‘only dil, no bill’.”
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Regarded as one of the greatest opening batsman of all-time, Gavaskar finished with 10,122 runs 125 Tests, which included 34 hundreds. In 108 One-day Internationals, he managed just one century and scored 3,092 runs.