Mumbai, April 24 (IANS) The somewhat subdued birthday celebrations of Indian cricket's batting legend Sachin Tendulkar, who turned 34 Tuesday, was lit up with a unique gift from his childhood friend and former India batsman Vinod Kambli -34 miniature bats with Kambli's signature.

Tendulkar has rarely celebrated his birthdays lavishly, preferring to spend time with his family - his wife, their son and daughter, and other relatives. And Tuesday saw the usual low-key affair at his suburban Mumbai residence in Bandra (West).

However, for the little master the gift of 34 miniature bats was indeed special.

'Returning from the World Cup debacle and rested for the three-match ODI series, Tendulkar had a low-key birthday unlike his 30th birthday when he won the 'Player of the Tournament' award in South Africa four years back,' said a sports journalist close to the cricketer.

Meanwhile Kambli, who sent him the miniature autographed bats, said: 'Sending Sachin the bats with my autograph is a way of telling him that the bat is symbolic of his (Tendulkar's) love for cricket. And hence I sent him not one but 34 of them, one bat for every year.'

'More so, I also got a chance to give him my autograph, which I never have.'

'When he got his 35th Test hundred, I sent him 35 vada pavs (vegetable sandwiches). It had brought a smile to his face,' reminisced Kambli, who shares a record opening stance with Tendulkar in school cricket.

Kambli is confident that his childhood friend would make a comeback in a big way in the Test series.

'The little master will surely make a comeback with a bang as he hates to be rested without proper reason. He would have loved to be in Bangladesh for the One-Day series,' Kambli told a local tabloid Tuesday.

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