MCA names club after Sachin Tendulkar

Zee Media Bureau

Mumbai: The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has paid a tribute to Sachin Tendulkar by naming the Kandivili ground as the Sachin Tendulkar Gymkhana Club. The announcement was made by MCA’s newly elected president Sharad Pawar on Tuesday. The Club would be inaugurated on November 11. The MCA had formed a small committee headed by Pawar to decide how to felicitate Tendulkar who will hang up his boots after his historic 200th Test against West Indies. His glittering career has fetched him 100 international hundreds and over 34,000 runs in international cricket. "We have decided to name our clubhouse at Kandivli after Sachin Tendulkar and the unveiling function would be held there on November 11 in the presence of both the teams - West Indies and India," said Pawar. The first Test of the India-West Indies series is to be played from November 6-10 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata while the second and final game, which would also mark the end of Tendulkar's glittering career, will be held at the Wankhede Stadium from November 14-18. "Both India and West Indies teams would come to our Kandivli facility direct after landing in Mumbai from Kolkata to be present for the felicitation function and then go to their hotel. We want to hold it on a grand scale," Pawar said. Pawar also said that this was the only official felicitation function that is planned by Tendulkar's parent association to mark his departure from the game. Among the functionaries attending it would be current Cricket Board president N Srinvasan and the other office bearers of BCCI. "This is the official felicitation function of Sachin Tendulkar by MCA. BCCI president N Srinivasan has accepted our invitation in principle to be present along with several other dignitaries, including the Maharashtra CM (Prithviraj Chavan)," Pawar said. "The BCCI is likely to felicitate him ten minutes before the commencement of the Mumbai Test on November 14," he added. Pawar said MCA's Kandivli clubhouse was even better than its clubhouse at the Bandra-Kurla Complex and will house several photographs from the cricket career of the batting great. All the past cricketers from Mumbai, who have played Tests and Ranji Trophy, will be invited for the November 11 function. Pawar also announced that the tickets sold for Sachin’s last Test match would feature his picture. The prices of the tickets have also been fixed. Lower tier of the popular East Stand, named after Sunil Gavaskar, would cost the public Rs 500 for five days while the upper tier Rs 1,000. The member clubs can purchase tickets for the north stand at Rs 1,000 apiece while the public will have to shell out Rs 2,500. With PTI inputs