Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) is divided over a suggestion to erect a full size statue of Sachin Tendulkar at the historic Wankhede Stadium, MiD DAY has learnt
During the last managing committee meeting on May 28, some members of the association had suggested having a Tendulkar replica to commemorate the batting legend’s 100 international centuries in March this year. “It is a very big achievement for all, especially Mumbaikars. So, this would be an ideal way to recognise his monumental feat. Wankhede is his home ground and we need to do something special,” said a source.
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The source said the idea was inspired by Sir Don Bradman’s statue outside the Adelaide Oval. “Sir Don is Australia and Adelaide’s pride. Similarly, Sachin is India and Mumbai’s jewel. At the moment, we just have a stand named after the legendary batsman, which is not enough,” added the source.
The Melbourne Cricket Ground has statues of legendary Australian cricketers like Bradman, Shane Warne, Dennis Lillee and Keith Miller.
However, some in the MCA are not convinced with the idea. The reason is lack of space. “There is already a huge space crunch at the Wankhede Stadium during matches. So, erecting a statue is not practically feasible.
“Another reason is the statue may get damaged in crowd frenzy,” said another source.
MCA has already announced that it would felicitate Tendulkar with 100 gold coins, which would cost approximately Rs 28 lakhs.
The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) felicitated the master batsman with 100 gold coins, and a golden bat and ball during Mumbai Indians’ match against Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League-V at the Eden Gardens last month.u00a0
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