Batting icon Sachin Tendulkar led tributes in India on Thursday for Australian opener Phillip Hughes, calling the death of his former teammate a “sad day for cricket”.

“Shocked to hear about Phil. Sad day for cricket,” said Tendulkar, who played alongside the 25-year-old Hughes in the Indian Premier League.

“Deepest condolences to family, friends and well wishers. RIP,” Tendulkar said on Twitter of his former Mumbai Indians teammate.

Former and current Indian stars joined Tendulkar in paying tribute to Hughes, who died in a Sydney hospital on Thursday of injuries sustained after being hit by a rising ball in domestic cricket.

Batting great Sunil Gavaskar said his immediate reaction was “one of profound sadness”.

“No one wants to hear such news about a sportsman, let alone a cricketer,” the former opening batsman told NDTV. “My condolences to his family and the Australian cricketing fraternity.”

Gavaskar, the first batsman to score 10,000 Test runs who played at the highest level in the pre-helmet days, said he never considered cricket to be a dangerous game.

“You learn to bear the pain,” he said. “But this was a freakish accident. One should not blame helmet manufacturers for this. Many a time a batsman has been hit on the helmet and nothing happened because he was wearing one.”

Another former captain Anil Kumble, who serves as mentor of the Mumbai Indians franchise, tweeted: “Sad day for cricket. Phil Hughes RIP. Knew him whilst he came over to Mumbai Indians. Thorough pro..will miss you.”

All-rounder Yuvraj Singh, who battled lung cancer two years ago, called Hughes’ death a “dark day for cricket”.

“Dark day for cricket. Can’t believe Phil Hughes has gone! RIP my friend. My heart goes out to his family. Shocking,” Singh tweeted.