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Rohit Sharma has spent most of his early cricketing career at the Wankhede stadium.
Rohit Sharma at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday. (PC: Instagram/viralbhayani)
Rohit Sharma arrived at the Wankhede Stadium for the celebration of its 50th anniversary on Sunday, draped in a deep-blue Indian buttoned kurta.
The iconic stadium is celebrating 50 years of its inauguration. Its construction began in 1974 under politician and Mumbai Cricket Association secretary S. K. Wankhede. It was completed in just 13 months and opened in time to host the last bilateral Test of the 1975 series between India and the West Indies.
Many guests, former India and Mumbai cricketers, including Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar have been invited to the event. Watch a video of Rohit’s entry here:
Earlier, Rohit had expressed his pride at seeing the ground where he started and spent most of his cricket career complete it’s half-century.
“Hello everyone. On 19th of January this month, Wankhede will be celebrating its 50th anniversary,” Rohit had said in a video posted by Mumbai Cricket Association on their X handle. “It’s a very, very proud moment for all the Mumbaikars especially who are involved in Mumbai cricket for so many years. Personally, for me, I have a very, very special connection with this ground. So many memories. I started playing my age group cricket at this very venue. And since then, till now, it’s been a wonderful journey.”
“So to see Wankhede grow over the years. When I played for the first time, the old stadium… it had its own charm. And now, you know, this venue right now has special memories involved with Indian cricket, Mumbai Indians, and age group cricket of Mumbai Cricket Association. So I just want to wish everyone the best for the coming years as well. And hopefully, we can create more and more memories at this very venue. Thank you,” he added.
On Saturday, Rohit and chief selector Ajit Agarkar announced India’s squad for the 2025 Champions Trophy and the preceding ODI series against England from the stadium. The opening batter will lead India in both series and will hope to get back to form after a lull in red-ball cricket over the past six months.
