19 August,2020 07:03 AM IST | Mumbai | Harit N Joshi
A 2004 image of the northern end of the Wankhede Stadium. Pic/ Getty Images
The next time you visit Wankhede Stadium, chances are that you will see the North Stand with Dilip Vengsarkar's name on it. The decision to name a stand after the former Mumbai and India captain was taken at the Mumbai Cricket Association's (MCA) Apex Council meeting on Tuesday.
Vengsarkar, who played 116 Tests, will now join fellow Mumbai greats, Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar to have stands named after them at Wankhede.
MCA's Apex Council member Nadim Memon proposed the honour for Vengsarkar.
"The Apex Council was unanimous in their approval to name a stand after Vengsarkar. The Chief Executive Officer will assess the exact place [for the honour]," MCA secretary Sanjay Naik told mid-day. A top corporate has a long-term agreement with the MCA for the stands near the sight screen, below the media box.
Also on the agenda was honouring Gavaskar to commemorate 50 years of his Test debut on March 6, 2021. It was decided to provide 10 AC box tickets to the former India captain. "The Apex Council has unanimously agreed to honour the living legend with 10 AC box tickets. Even other living Mumbai legends will be given a similar honour once the office-bearers finalise the criteria," said Naik.
Meanwhile, conflict of interest concerns had surfaced regarding the Cricket Improvement Committee (CIC), but those were resolved and the MCA has confirmed that Lalchand Rajput will be the CIC chief with former India cricketers Raju Kulkarni and Sameer Dighe in it.
On the issue of whether to withdraw the application put up in the Supreme Court regarding the objection over voting rights for Mumbai's international cricketers, it is learnt that MCA president Dr Vijay Patil "categorically stated that the MCA is for cricketers". A legal opinion may be sought to withdraw the particular point from the petition pending before the Supreme Court.
Dilip Vengsarkar
Regarding former Mumbai cricketer Hiken Shah's appeal to the MCA to allow him to play cricket again after serving his five-year ban imposed by the BCCI for allegedly approaching a cricketer to fix in the IPL, the MCA will seek the Indian cricket board's permission to do so.
The MCA has finally initiated the process to appoint an Ombudsman and Ethics Officer almost a year since the Apex Council was elected. "A few names have been discussed, but we cannot disclose them at this moment as we are yet to seek their consent," Naik said.
One of the names doing the rounds is SJ Vajifdar, retired chief justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court. The Apex Council also decided to hold a virtual Annual General Meeting.
The much-awaited museum at the Wankhede Stadium, first reported by mid-day on August 1, was given a formal nod in the Apex Council meeting. However, secretary Naik and joint secretary Shahalam Sheikh are not a part of the committee, which has not gone down well with them, it is learnt.
Meanwhile, it is understood that the meeting ended on a sour note when MCA president Patil walked off due to bad language used by a member when the last item on the agenda was being discussed.
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