In a touching moment, Rohit Sharma invited his parents, Mrs. Purnima and Mr. Gurunath Sharma, on stage to press the button and officially inaugurate the ‘Rohit Sharma Stand’ at Wankhede Stadium on Friday. The event marked the formal implementation of a Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) resolution passed during its AGM to name stadium stands after three cricketing stalwarts — Rohit Sharma, former India captain Ajit Wadekar, and ex-BCCI president Sharad Pawar. As per the resolution, Level Three of the Divecha Pavilion now carries Rohit’s name, while Levels 3 and 4 of the Grand Stand are named after Pawar and Wadekar, respectively.
Rohit has now earned his place among Mumbai’s cricketing greats — legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, and Vijay Merchant — all of whom have stands named after them at Wankhede. The honour celebrates Rohit’s inspiring rise from a young boy in Mumbai to leading the Indian team across all formats of the game.
MCA president Ajinkya Naik, while announcing the decision earlier this week, had said, “This reflects our deep respect for the pillars of Mumbai cricket and our determination to build an even stronger future.”
The timing of the inauguration made the moment even more special, coming shortly after Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from Test cricket. The 38-year-old revealed his decision to step away from the longest format last week, while still serving as captain at the time of the announcement.
Rohit played 67 Tests, scoring 4,301 runs with 10 centuries and 18 fifties. As captain, he led India to the 2023 ODI World Cup final and won the T20 World Cup in 2024 and Champions Trophy in 2025.
The batter, fondly called ‘Hitman’, will be back in action next Wednesday when Mumbai Indians face Delhi Capitals at Wankhede. IPL 2025 resumes this Saturday with Royal Challengers Bengaluru taking on Kolkata Knight Riders.
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