Rajasthan Royals head coach Rahul Dravid shared a light-hearted message while congratulating Rohit Sharma after a stand at the Wankhede Stadium was named in honour of the former Mumbai Indians captain. The stand was unveiled on Friday during a ceremony attended by Rohit’s family, Mumbai Indians teammates, and other dignitaries.
“Hey Rohit. Guess you hit so many sixes into those stands that they had to name one after you! But, congratulations. I’m sure as a young boy going into the iconic Wankhede Stadium-truly one of the great stadiums in the world-you would have loved to play there, and hoped to deliver some great performances, which you have done. I’m not sure you dreamt of having a stand named after you, but now that you do, it’s a fitting reward for your contribution to both Mumbai and Indian cricket,” Dravid said in a video shared by Mumbai Indians on their X handle.
Rohit Sharma thanked his parents in an emotionally charged message before escorting them to the stage to unveil the stand that now bears his name in bold letters.
At that moment, Rohit wasn’t the star cricketer, but a grateful son acknowledging the sacrifices his parents had made to help him pursue his dream.
“It’s going to be even more special, to have my family here-parents, brother, wife. I am grateful and thankful for whatever they have sacrificed for me,” Rohit said during the ceremony organised by the Mumbai Cricket Association.
“I had never dreamt of what was going to happen today. You try to achieve a lot of milestones, but something like this is really special, because Wankhede is an iconic stadium and so many memories have been made here,” he added.
The 38-year-old then stood beside his parents as they, along with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, pressed a switch that unveiled the ‘Rohit Sharma Stand’, accompanied by colourful fireworks and a shower of confetti.
Ritika, Rohit’s wife, stood by his side, smiling as she took in the proud moment. Apart from Rohit, former India captain Ajit Wadekar and former BCCI president Sharad Pawar were also honoured with stands named after them.