Week-long Wankhede@50 celebrations culminate with all-star show at India’s iconic cricket venue
Ravi Shastri (fourth from right) speaks at the celebration of the Wankhede Stadium’s 50th anniversary on Sunday. Pic/Atul Kamble
Oldest Test player Patankar delighted
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Chandrakant Patankar (left) is felicitated by MCA’s Apex Council member Kaushik Godbole
The senior-most person in the audience was Mumbai’s oldest Test cricketer — Chandrakant Patankar, who played a solitary Test for India in 1955. The 94-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman thoroughly enjoyed the evening. He told this diarist on Monday morning that Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri were swift to come up to greet him while Sachin Tendulkar paid his respects too.
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Two Sunday visits for Vinod Kambli
Vinod Kambli made his second appearance at the Wankhede Stadium in a week and that provided an indication of being happy among his cricketing friends and seniors. Kambli, who is not in the best of health, walked in with his family. Kambli was also at Wankhede on January 12 for a felicitation.
Why not include domestic players?
If the week-long golden jubilee celebrations of the Wankhede Stadium missed something, it would have to be the absence of any event involving past and present domestic cricketers. There was no get-together of sorts for this very important group, who contributed in no small measure to Mumbai being on the top of the tree where Ranji Trophy titles are concerned. Forty-two triumphs is no mean feat, after all.
Prabhudesai, Dahatonde combine well for book
Devendra Prabhudesai (left) with Prakash Dahatonde
The coffee table book on the Wankhede Stadium was released by the MCA’s Apex Council members. The book looked impressive and has articles from some of the greats of the game on their Wankhede experiences. West Indies legend Clive Lloyd, who scored a double century in the inaugural Test in 1974-75 and New Zealand spinner Ajaz Patel, who claimed 10 wickets in an innings in the 2021-22 Test, have been interviewed in the book compiled by Prakash Dahatonde and Devendra Prabhudesai.
No commentary then, but Shastri does it now
Commentary and Ravi Shastri are inseparable. So when it came to him talking about his six sixes for Bombay against Baroda on January 10, 1985, Shastri chose to describe the last six off Tilak Raj as he would do on air. The narration got a wholesome applause from the stands and from those at ground level. And a video of it could well go viral.
Mandira Bedi gets it right with SMG stand
Mandira Bedi at Wankhede on Sunday. Pic/Atul Kamble
It was a pleasant surprise to see Mandira Bedi hosting a major cricket event again. One could not help recollect her television work during the 2003 World Cup in Southern Africa. Mandira was spot-on when she called a section of the ground named after Sunil Gavaskar as the Sunil Gavaskar Stand, as against Sunil Gavaskar Pavilion, which is not the original East Stand signage at the stadium.
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