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Rahul Dravid humorously congratulated Rohit Sharma at the ‘Rohit Sharma Stand’ inauguration at Wankhede Stadium.
Rahul Dravid (L) reacts to the Rohit Sharma Stand innaguration. (PC: X/@mipaltan)
Former India head coach Rahul Dravid offered one of the most wholesome and hilarious reactions at the inauguration of the ‘Rohit Sharma Stand’ at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday (May 16). Dravid joked about how the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) ‘had to name’ the stand after him because he had hit ‘so many sixes’ there, before seriously adding that this huge honor was a reward for his contributions to the sport.
The MCA ratified the development in its most recent meeting and renamed the Divecha Pavilion Level 3 after Rohit in a huge ceremony on Friday. He joined Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, and Vijay Merchant in the select group of India legends to have stands named after them at the iconic stadium.
“Hey Rohit, guess you hit so many sixes into those stands that they had to name one after you,” Dravid said in a video posted by Mumbai Indians on X. “But no, just congratulations! I’m sure there’s a young boy going into the iconic Wankhede Stadium, truly one of the great stadiums in the world. I’m sure you would have loved to play there. I’m sure you would have wanted to have some great performances there, which you have done. I’m not sure you dreamt about having a stand named after you. But that it has come to that and that you have one named after you, I think it is just a reward for your contribution to both Mumbai and Indian cricket.”
Dravid, who shared an excellent relationship with Rohit during their time together in India (where they won a T20 World Cup and reached the final of an ODI one), concluded the message with a hilarious quip, too.
“It’s truly well deserved. Congratulations! I hope it was a great day with family and friends. Looking forward to seeing a lot more sixes into the Rohit Sharma stand in all the games that you play and when I’m short of tickets in Mumbai, now that you’ve a stand, I know who to contact,” he added.
The MCA also unveiled two additional stands named after Sharad Pawar, former chief of the MCA, BCCI, and ICC, and former India captain Ajit Wadekar.
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