To mark the 50th anniversary of Sunil Gavaskar’s India Test debut in 1971 against the West Indies, on March 9, 2021, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) will be gifting former India and Mumbai captain a permanent box at the Wankhede Stadium.
The first batsman to reach 10,000 runs in Test cricket, Gavaskar had made his Test debut on March 9, 1971, at the Port of Spain against the West Indies and made 65 and 67 runs. He went on to make a record 774 runs in the 4 Tests he played with 4 centuries and 3 half-centuries at an average of 154.80 and the highest score of 220.
This remains a world record for most runs by a batsman in his debut Test series.
The MCA's Apex Council had in July last year decided to allot a special box to Gavaskar on the occasion of him completing 50 years since his international debut. The MCA had decided on this gesture as a mark of restoring his two fixed seats at the Wankhede Stadium which were missing after the stadium was refurbished before the 2011 World Cup.
On Saturday, Gavaskar was invited by the MCA to the Wankhede Stadium, where President Vijay Patil and secretary Sanjay Naik showed him where the box, containing 10-12 seats, named after him would be situated.
"We are delighted to honor one of the world's greatest opening batsman to ever play the game and India's pride, the legendary Shri Sunil Gavaskar with a permanent box at our Iconic Wankhede stadium. Today, we gave him a tour of the proposed box which will be formally assigned on March 9 when we felicitate the Indian legend on completing 50 years since making his international debut," MCA president Vijay Patil told TOI on Saturday.
(Times of India inputs)
