An epitome of calmness on the cricket field, Sachin Tendulkar said he felt "tense" cutting his 40th birthday cake even as he humbly thanked his millions of fans world over for showering him with "unconditional love" for over two decades.
"(I have) never been so tense actually while cutting a cake. Thank you everybody for this gesture. It's really touching," Tendulkar said in a brief cake-cutting ceremony where his wife Anjali was also present.
The veteran batsman said it was his former teammate Anil Kumble's wishes that helped calm the nerves.
"While walking to get here, I met Anil Kumble along the way who wished me 'Happy Birthday' and told me, 'don't worry, 40 is just a number.' So that was sort of relieving," he said with a smile.
Thanking his billions of fans worldwide, Tendulkar said it was because of their good wishes that he could continue playing more than two decades after his international debut.
"Let me take this opportunity to thank all the people in India and all across the world who are well-wishers of mine...They have supported me and showered their unconditional love on me over the last 23 years. So it's been really special," he said.
"It's because of their good wishes and prayers that I am standing here in front you all after 23 years. It's been my strength. I thought this was the best opportunity to come here and thank each and every one of them for every little thing that they have done for me," he added.
Tendulkar said there have been many special people in his life who have made various sacrifices for him.
"There have been so many people who have made various sacrifices, fasting and those kind of things when I was injured... I just want to say thank you which I believe is not enough.
"I would have personally liked to meet and thank them but it's not possible so I thought this was the best forum where I could reach out to most of them," he said.
