Ashish Ranjan
Sachin Tendulkar Statue: Sachin Tendulkar will shortly receive one of the most prestigious awards for his contributions to Indian and Mumbai cricket. A life-size statue of the legendary former cricketer will be installed inside the renowned Wankhede Stadium, where he played his final international match for India in 2013.
The statue will be unveiled either on April 30, Sachin’s 50th birthday, or during the 50-over World Cup later this year, as per reports.Amol Kale, president of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), informed a national newspaper that Sachin has given his approval for the stadium’s first-ever statue installation.
The MCA president, Amol Kale on Sachin Tendulkar Statue, said , “It will be the first statue in Wankhede Stadium, and we will determine its placement.”
“(Tendulkar) is a Bharat Ratna, and everyone is aware of his contributions to cricket. As he reaches 50, the MCA will present him with a small token of appreciation. I spoke with him three weeks ago and received his assent,” said Kale.
There are few life-size statues within cricket stadiums across the country. There are currently only three statues of former Indian captain Colonel CK Nayudu at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) stadium in Nagpur, the VDCA stadium in Andhra Pradesh, and the Holkar Stadium in Indore.
Regarding Wankhede, there is a stand named after Sachin Tendulkar, a corporate box named after Sunil Gavaskar, and another stand named after Dilip Vengsarkar.Sachin has represented India in 200 Tests, 463 ODIs, and one T20I. He has scored 34,357 runs across all formats and retains the record for the most international centuries with a total of 100.
Also Read | Ranbir Kapoor not working on Sourav Ganguly’s biopic, reveals he is doing film on Kishore Kumar’s life instead
The iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) has a life-size statue of legendary Shane Warne, who passed away last year, in relation to statues of cricketers at stadiums.”It’s a tremendous honour; it’s a little strange to see myself up there, but I’m very proud. It weighs 300 kilogrammes, that statue! It was quite realistic when I played!” Warne had stated at its 2011 unveiling.
