Indian batting legend Gavaskar honoured after UK cricket ground named after him

He will travel to Leicester to formally present his name plaque at the stadium

File photo

A Staff Reporter

Published: Fri 22 Jul 2022, 10:10 PM

Almost 35 years after he played his last Test match Sunil Gavaskar has been honoured in the UK with the news that a stadium will be named after the Indian cricketing legend in the city of Leicester.

Having once held the record for both most runs and most hundreds in Test matches and was the first batsman to surpass 10,000 runs in Test cricket, Gavaskar (73) is currently a highly-regarded columnist and commentator.

He will travel to Leicester to formally present his name plaque at the Bharat Sports and Cricket Club-owned stadium.

“I am delighted and honoured that a ground in Leicester is being named after me,” Gavaskar told the Times of Indian from London. “Leicester is a city with possibly the strongest supporters of the game, especially Indian cricket, and therefore it is a huge honour indeed.”

A giant l ikeness of Gavaskar, a world cup winner who represented India in 125 Tests and 108 ODIs and scored a combined 13,214 runs including 35 centuries, has already been painted on the pavilion’s full back wall.

Gavaskar is the first Indian cricketer to have a ground named after him in England or anyplace else in Europe.

He already has stadiums named after him in Kentucky, in the US, and Zanzibar, in Tanzania.

The decision to name the Leicester ground after Gavaskar was initiated by Keith Vaz, the longest-serving Indian-origin MP in the UK,

“We are thrilled and honoured that Gavaskar has agreed to have this pitch and ground named after him,” Vaz said. “He is a living legend and over the years, has delighted Indians and other lovers of cricket with his record-breaking performances.

“To us, he is not just the ‘Little Master’, he is a great master of the game.

Rash Patel of Bharat Sports and Cricket Club remarked, “We have been in existence for 68 years. We could not think of a better role model for our young players than Gavaskar. I

“It is wonderful that he has agreed to our plans. It is so special for future generations of cricketers.”