India head coach Gautam Gambhir extended birthday wishes to former opening batter Navjot Singh Sidhu, who turned 62 on Monday. Sidhu, a marauding stroke-maker who loved taking down spinners during his playing days, turned into a commentator once his time on the crease was over.

Gambhir described Sidhu as a person “who never minces his words” and a delightful “human being” while extending birthday wishes. “A very happy birthday to the one who never minces his words. A straight shooter & a delightful human being!” Gambhir wrote on X.

Sidhu, known for his entertaining concoction of mixed metaphors, represented India in 51 Tests and 136 ODIs. In a career that spanned a total of 187 international appearances, Sidhu hammered 7,615 runs across all formats after making his debut in 1983.

His finest moment in Test format was the memorable 201 against the West Indies in 1996-97. It was an act of remarkable endurance that lasted for a staggering 11 hours. His rutheless aggression against the spinners was a sight to behold. Sidhu walloped cracked eight sixes in 124 against Sri Lanka and the legendary ball tweaker Muthiah Muralitharan in 1993-94.

As wishes poured from fans and former cricketers, a fake quote that attributed to Sidhu went viral on social media, which referred to to the removal of chief selector Ajit Agarkar and Gambhir.

The post that went viral on X, alleged that Sidhu had said, “If India wants to win the 2027 ODI World Cup, then BCCI ( Board of Control for Cricket in India) should remove Ajit Agarkar and Gautam Gambhir as soon as possible and hand over the captaincy to Rohit Sharma again with full respect.”

Sidhu was quick to dismiss the viral quote and hit back strongly, saying on his official X handle, “Never said it, don’t spread fake news, never imagined it. Shame on you.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by News staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)