Mumbai: It is a stadium that’s touched an unbeaten half century and emerged as a vital landmark in Indian cricket. A star-studded function was held on Sunday to commemorate the golden jubilee of Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.
It was here that a 20-year-old Rohit Sharma celebrated his becoming a world champion following India’s 2007 T20 World Cup win in Johannesburg, capping a victory parade in front of a sea of people that ended at the Wankhede. It was also here that Rohit returned to celebrate another World Cup success last year in front of a packed stadium, after the T20 win in Barbados.
A month before leaving for Dubai for the next ICC event, the glittering Champions Trophy was placed for view on the podium. India skipper Rohit promised to deliver a campaign that would give cricket fans another reason to rejoice and celebrate. “We will try our best. It’s always a dream to represent the Indian team in an ICC event. We will embark on another dream of 140 crore people. We know when we reach Dubai, those many people will be behind us,” he said.
Also present on the occasion was another World Cup winner, Mumbai’s favourite son Sachin Tendulkar, who realised his cherished dream when the MS Dhoni-led India beat Sri Lanka in the 2011 ODI World Cup final at the Wankhede. “If we had not won that trophy, for me, after all those years of playing, my career would have been incomplete,” Tendulkar said.
{{/usCountry}}Also present on the occasion was another World Cup winner, Mumbai’s favourite son Sachin Tendulkar, who realised his cherished dream when the MS Dhoni-led India beat Sri Lanka in the 2011 ODI World Cup final at the Wankhede. “If we had not won that trophy, for me, after all those years of playing, my career would have been incomplete,” Tendulkar said.
{{/usCountry}}Going further back in time, little master Sunil Gavaskar was part of the Indian team that played the first Test at the stadium, in 1975 against West Indies. “Getting to call a ground home in Mumbai after initially playing at the CCI, which was a private club, was like pehla pyaar (first love),” Gavaskar said.