The MCA unveiled the Rohit Sharma stand on May 16.
Former India head coach Rahul Dravid has congratulated Rohit Sharma for achieving a rare honour for his invaluable contributions to Indian cricket. On May 16, the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) renamed the Level 3 Divecha Pavilion stand at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in honour of the India skipper.
They paid tribute to the local boy who grew up playing at the Wankhede and went on to become a stalwart of Indian cricket. The tribute comes shortly after the 38-year-old announced his retirement from Test cricket.
The former player mentioned Rohit’s big hits that often sailed into the stands of his home ground, Wankhede. He also spoke about how the opener would have been elated to have a stand named after him at one of the greatest stadiums in the world.
“Hey Rohit, guess you hit so many sixes into those stands that they had to name one after you. But congratulations! I’m sure as a young boy going into the iconic Wankhede Stadium — truly one of the great stadiums in the world — I’m sure you would have loved to have played there. I’m sure you would have wanted to have some great performances there, which you have done,” he was seen saying in a video posted by Mumbai Indians (MI).
Further, Dravid also made a funny banter after sending his best wishes to the Indian captain. The Rajasthan Royals coach mentioned how Rohit’s recently earned honour made it easy for him to arrange Wankhede tickets.
“I’m not sure you dreamt about having a stand named after you, but that it has come to that and that you have one named after you, it’s a just reward for your contribution to both Mumbai and Indian cricket. It’s truly well deserved, congratulations! I hope it was a great day with family and friends. Looking forward to seeing a lot more sixes into the Rohit Sharma Stand in all the games that you play. And when I’m short on tickets in Mumbai, now that you have a stand, I know who to contact,” added Dravid.
ALSO READ:
Rohit has enjoyed a great run in his international career at his home ground over the years. He has scored 165 runs in four T20I matches at a strike rate of 158.7 and 97 runs in five ODI matches at the Wankhede.
However, his best at this stadium came in the white-ball format. Rohit notched up 140 runs in three Test innings, including a 111 not out knock against the West Indies, in November 2013.
Talking about the Indian Premier League (IPL), Rohit has accumulated 2,446 runs in 85 matches while representing MI. The opener has struck 110 over-boundaries at this stadium in his 13-year-long IPL career. One of his two unbeaten IPL centuries has also come on this venue. Rohit put up a fiery 63-ball 105* against the Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2024.
The team will play their last home match of this season on May 21. MI are currently placed fourth in the points table. They will go head-to-head with the Delhi Capitals to take a step forward in the IPL 2025 playoffs race.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Telegram, and YouTube.
