Sunil Gavaskar returns unused Mumbai plot to Maharashtra government after 33 years

Sunil Gavaskar along with batting legend Sachin Tendulkar had approached Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray with a plan to develop the academy, but it did not materialise.

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar. (Source: Twitter)

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has returned a government plot allotted to him in Mumbai 33 years ago to set up a cricket academy, an official from the Maharashtra housing agency MHADA said on Wednesday (May 4). State Housing Minister Jitendra Awhad had last year expressed displeasure over Gavaskar not utilising the plot in suburban Bandra, where a cricket academy was proposed, even after 30 years of the allotment.

Gavaskar has now returned the plot to the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) after the latter’s eight-month-long deliberations and meetings with partners of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi in the state, the official said. Awhad also confirmed that Gavaskar had written a letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, informing that he could not set up a cricket academy on the Bandra plot given to him years ago.

Earlier, Gavaskar along with batting legend Sachin Tendulkar had approached Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray with a plan to develop the academy, but it did not materialise. The MHADA, which comes under Awhad’s ministry, had requested Gavaskar to return the unused plot.

Meanwhile, Gavaskar believes Super Kings have a lot of catching up to do but the defending champions can still make a turnaround and qualify for the playoffs. Speaking on ‘Cricket Live’ on Star Sports, Gavaskar said, “They have a lot of catching up to do but they are a team that knows how to make a comeback. But they need to turn it around quickly. We saw what happened with KKR last year. When the tournament was being held in India, KKR were nowhere in the picture but in the UAE they won just about everything and went into the finals. So things can turn around in a jiffy in this tournament,” he added.

(with agency inputs)