A plan to rename one of the stands at Wankhede Stadium in honour of India skipper Rohit Sharma has been approved by the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA). The choice was taken on Tuesday, April 15, at the Association's Annual General Meeting (AGM). The MCA also revealed that two additional stands will be named in honour of batting legend Ajit Wadekar and former BCCI president Sharad Pawar. Milind Narvekar, an MCA apex council member and politician, proposed naming the stands after the three cricketing greats.
"Another key resolution passed during the AGM was the approval of the naming of stands at Wankhede Stadium - a proposal initially put forward by Mr Milind Narvekar and seconded by Mr Jitendra Awhad. The house unanimously approved the stand namings," the cricket body said in a statement.
The stands will be renamed as follows:
- Grand Stand Level 3: Shri Sharad Pawar Stand
- Grand Stand Level 4: Ajit Wadekar Stand
- Divecha Pavilion Level 3: Rohit Sharma Stand
In honour of former board president Amol Kale, who died in 2024 at the age of 47, the MCA also declared during the AGM that the match-day office at the MCA Pavilion would now be called the MCA Office Lounge. In an effort to strengthen grassroots infrastructure and foster the long-term development of cricket in the city, the MCA also passed a resolution raising the corpus for affiliated clubs to Rs 75 crore, with ambitions to boost it to Rs 100 crore in the upcoming years.
"Today’s decisions reflect our deep respect for the pillars of Mumbai cricket and our determination to build an even stronger future. These stands and this lounge shall forever echo the legacy of those who built Mumbai’s cricketing spirit — brick by brick, run by run," MCA president Ajinkya Naik said.
At Wankhede Stadium, there are already stands named after a number of Indian cricket superstars, including Dilip Vengsarkar, Vijay Merchant, Sunil Gavaskar, and Sachin Tendulkar. Like the other greats of Mumbai cricket, Rohit Sharma has a long and illustrious history with the Wankhede Stadium.
After leading the national team to victory the previous year, the captain of India recently disclosed that he had proposed moving the T20 World Cup to the Wankhede and planning the victory parade in Mumbai. Following the Indian team's return from Barbados, a wonderful felicitation ceremony was conducted at the Wankhede, where Rohit was clearly emotional as supporters encouraged him.
Following Rohit is incredible achievement of leading India to both the Champions Trophy and the T20 World Cup wins in a single year, momentum for naming a stand grew. As captain of the Mumbai Indians, he has also had great success, leading the team to a record five IPL championships.
Every time Rohit hits the field, the Wankhede stands frequently resound with cries of "Mumbai cha Raja" as he dominates the opposition bowlers. In 11 international appearances at the Wankhede Stadium, Rohit Sharma has scored 402 runs at an average of 36, including a century and a half. He has amassed 2,543 runs in T20s overall, including a century, at the storied stadium, most of which have come while playing with the Mumbai Indians.