Dilip Vengsarkar to have statue in his honour at Wankhede Stadium

MCA set to unveil Dilip Vengsarkar statue at Wankhede Stadium (Source: Instagram/Dilip Vengsarkar)

The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has announced the erection of a life-size statue of legendary India and Mumbai batter Dilip Vengsarkar at the iconic Wankhede Stadium. Vengsarkar, who has also held the position of vice-president within the MCA, will be honoured after the association made the announcement official on Wednesday, October 8.

The decision was taken at the Apex Council meeting of the MCA, which was held on Wednesday. The MCA released their decision as a part of an official statement. President Ajinkya Naik also spoke on the same subject while honouring ‘one of Mumbai’s greatest cricketing icons’.

“The Council has unanimously resolved to install a life-size statue of Dilip Vengsarkar at Wankhede Stadium in recognition of his outstanding contribution to Indian and Mumbai cricket,” stated the MCA, as quoted by Cricbuzz.

“Honouring Dilip Vengsarkar with a statue at Wankhede is a tribute to one of Mumbai’s greatest cricketing icons, while our support for farmers and maidan clubs underlines MCA’s deep-rooted connection with the community,” Naik added.

The secretary of the body Abhay Hadap revealed how the local association was planning on further improving the level of grassroots cricket through the instalment of academies and top-notch facilities for the generations to come.

“We are focused on strengthening the cricketing ecosystem from the grassroots. Setting up academies across the MMR and providing ground equipment to maidan clubs will help nurture the next generation of cricketers and ensure they have access to world-class facilities,” Hadap commented.

Aged 69, Vengsarkar played 116 Tests for India. He registered 17 centuries, and also has most hundreds by an Indian at Lord’s (3) and 35 half-centuries in the longest format. He averaged a healthy 42.13 in the 185 innings in Test cricket. As far as his ODI career is concerned, Vengsarkar played 129 matches for the country.

Apart from his several achievements, he was a part of India’s 1983 World Cup-winning squad. Recently, the association revealed a fresh statue of Sunil Gavaskar inside the premises of the venue. It also already features a statue of the great Sachin Tendulkar.

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