Wankhede Stadium stands to be named after Wadekar, Rohit

Rohit Sharma.
| Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO: EMMANUAL YOGINI

Former India captain the late Ajit Wadekar and T20 World Cup-winning skipper Rohit Sharma have been honoured by the Mumbai Cricket Association, with the MCA annual general meeting passing a resolution on Tuesday to name stands at the Wankhede Stadium after the duo.

The AGM also approved the resolution – mooted by apex council members Jitendra Awhad and Milind Narvekar, both political leaders – to name another stand after former MCA, BCCI and ICC chief Sharad Pawar and dedicate the newly created MCA Office lounge to Amol Kale, who passed away last year while serving as the MCA president.

“The Grand Stand Level 3 will be named as the Sharad Pawar Stand; the Grand Stand 4 Level 4 will be named after Ajit Wadekar; the Vithal Divecha Level 3 will now be called the Rohit Sharma Stand and the MCA office lounge will be in memory of Amol Kale,” MCA president Ajinkya Naik told reporters after the AGM.

Veteran administrator Ratnakar Shetty had highlighted the need for MCA to honour Wadekar – who led India to historic Test series wins in the West Indies and England in 1971 – in his acceptance speech after being conferred the MCA Lifetime Achievement Award last year.

MCA secretary Abhay Hadap stated that the AGM addressed the concern over avoiding a clash of private or club tournaments with the Harris Shield and Giles Shield tournaments, the inter-school tournaments that have served as the nursery of Mumbai cricket.