Will Wankhede stadium get a Rohit Sharma stand? Report says ‘final decision on…’
New Delhi: A proposal to name a stand at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium after Indian cricket captain Rohit Sharma is under consideration by the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA). This would make Sharma only the second active international cricketer, after Virat Kohli, to have a stadium stand named in his honor. The MCA has reportedly received multiple requests to commemorate prominent figures with various stadium features.
The Mumbai Cricket Association’s Apex Council will consider Rohit Sharma’s candidacy for an unspecified position on April 15th, though he faces competition from other prominent Mumbai cricketers.
“The MCA has received requests and proposals from its club members to name stands or assorted places outside the stadium on its past presidents, Sharad Pawar, late Vilasrao Deshmukh, as well as late India captain Ajit Wadekar, late Eknath Solkar, late Dilip Sardesai, late Padmakar Shivalkar, former India captain Diana Edulji and current India captain Rohit Sharma,” the report stated.
“There have been suggestions from members and the final decision will be taken by the general body members of the Mumbai Cricket Association,” MCA president Ajinkya Naik told The Indian Express.
In the past nine months, Rohit Sharma captained India to victory in two ICC tournaments, the T20 World Cup (2024) and the Champions Trophy (2025). This achievement is unprecedented for a Mumbai-born player leading the Indian team.
As per the Indian Express, “the MCA currently has one unattributed Grand Stand available above its president’s box which they can name inside the stadium. The East Stand is named on one of India’s finest openers Sunil Gavaskar, which is a common man’s stand. West Stand is in the name of Vijay Merchant, North has been named after Dilip Vengsarkar and Sachin Tendulkar. The media gallery has been named after late Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray. In 2022, MCA decided to have a life size statue of Tendulkar inside the stadium.”
Ratnakar Shetty, a former official with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), has advocated for a stadium stand to be named in honor of the late Ajit Wadekar. While the MCA previously proposed naming a lounge after Wadekar, his family declined, preferring a stand to be dedicated to his memory.
“MCA wanted to name the lounge after him, this issue of naming a stand after him has been pending for the last four years. We have raised this again. The Grand Stand which is above the president’s box is the ideal place as it doesn’t have any other names in the stand. He deserves more than anybody else after all he was India Test captain, and under him Mumbai won many Ranji Trophies. He served as MCA office-bearer and played roles at multiple levels. The issue needs to be looked at again,” Shetty was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.
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