Rohit Sharma says it will be ‘special feeling’ to play at Wankhede Stadium with stand in his name

Senior India batter Rohit Sharma said it will be a “special feeling” for him to play in India jersey in the ODIs at the Wankhede Stadium where a stand was on Friday named after him.

Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) named a stand each at the Wankhede Stadium after Rohit, former India skipper Ajit Wadekar, and ex-BCCI president Sharad Pawar.

“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,” said Rohit, who announced his retirement from Test cricket on May 7.

“To have my name here with the greats of the game and the world’s best political leader, I cannot express the feeling. I am super grateful.

“I am still playing and retired from two formats. It will be surreal to play when I play on 21^st (for Mumbai Indians in IPL) and have a stand here, it will be special when I represent the country here,” added Rohit who has also retired from T20 Internationals after leading India to the World Cup trophy last year.

He also thanked his family members for the sacrifices they had made for him throughout his career.

“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.

“My special team MI is also here, waiting for my speech to be over and start training. Special thanks to Pawar Saheb and Devendra Fadnavis (Maharashtra Chief Minister), makes it very special, it’s a very special day.”        Fadnavis, on his part, said that his government will allot land if the MCA sends a proposal for a new stadium.

“Our iconic batter, captain and one of my favourites, and one who mesmerizes with his batting is present here,” the CM said.

“If there is a proposal from MCA for a new stadium, we will allot space for that to accommodate more fans,” he added.