India captain Rohit Sharma was filled with pride and gratitude after having a stand named after him at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Earlier this month, on Tuesday, April 15, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) approved a proposal to name one of the stands after the Indian captain during the association’s Annual General Meeting (AGM).
Batting great Ajit Wadekar and former BCCI president Sharad Pawar are the others to have stands at the Wankhede, the MCA confirmed. Milind Narvekar, an MCA apex council member, put forward the names of Rohit, Wadekar and Pawar for approval.
The Divecha Pavilion Level 3 will now be named Rohit Sharma Stand. Legendary cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar, Vijay Merchant, Sunil Gavaskar, and Dilip Vengsarkar also have stands named after them at the Wankhede Stadium. The 37-year-old Rohit was overwhelmed by the honour, having represented India for 18 years since his debut back in 2007.
“Now to sit back and think that there is going to be a stadium stand in my game, it is such an unreal feeling. It is something that I have never thought of and I will be forever grateful for this big honour in my life,” Rohit said at the inauguration ceremony of the third edition of the Mumbai T20 League, scheduled to get underway on May 26.
“When you start playing the game, you don’t know how long you are going to play the game for; let alone all these milestones and achievements that you achieve while playing the game. But to get this kind of honour, having a stand named after you, is something that I cannot imagine,” Rohit said.
