The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) will hand over a hospitality box at the historic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai to former India opener Sunil Gavaskar.
The decision in this regard was confirmed by MCA on Sunday (3 October) and the hospitality box will be handed over to the legendary cricketer on October 29.
Notably, the MCA had taken the decision during their apex council meeting, which was held on Saturday (2 October).
Along with Gavaskar, the MCA has also decided to name a stand on former India cricketer and BCCI selector Dilip Vengsarkar. As per reports, a North Stand in Wankhede stadium will be named after Vengsarkar.
Both the developments will be held on on October 29, when the association will observe the Late Shri Madhav Mantri centenary year on that date.
“MCA to keep the function of Late Shri Madhav Mantri centenary year on October 29. On the same day, MCA will handover (the) hospitality box to Sunil Gavaskar,” a member of the MCA Apex Council was quoted as saying to Cricket Next.
All arrangements have already been made for the special day and the MCA has invited Sharad Pawar as the chief guest while G R Vishwanath will be the guest of honor.
The member of the MCA apex council also said that both Gavaskar and Vengsarkar will be honored by the MCA colors.
Gavaskar, who had made his debut against West Indies in 1971, played 125 Tests for India and is best known for facing the West Indian and Australian fast bowlers without a helmet which was played on unresponsive pitches.
He amassed over 10,000 runs in the longest format of the game. Gavaskar also slammed 34 tons, four double-centuries and 45 fifties in Tests.
In 108 ODIs, Gavaskar accumulated 3092 runs, averaging 35.17. He managed a hundred in the limited-overs format.
After retiring from the game, Gavaskar has served as a television commentator and columnist and has taken on various roles with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Althought he had briefly served as chairman of the ICC cricket committee but had to stepped down in controversial circumstances as he returned to commentary.
Even after retiring from the game, Gavaskar has continued to be an influential figure in Indian cricket.
On the other hand, Vengsarkar featured in 116 Tests for India, amassng 6868 runs, averaging 41.37. He also hit 17 tons in the process.
Vengsarkar, the former BCCI selector, also played 129 ODIs for India, where he accumulated 3508 runs, averaging 34.39 with the help of a hundred.
Vengsarkar was part of the World Cup winning squad in 1983, and was rated as the best batsman in the Coopers and Lybrand rating in 1986-87.
During his tenure as the chief selector, Vengsarkar was known for backing a lot of youngsters and for taking some bold steps by dropping some senior players from the squad. Notably, India had won the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007 and tasted success in many places including Australia during his tenure.