'Sachin… Sachin' Chants Reverberate at Wankhede Again

Back in 1983, a ten-year-old Sachin Tendulkar had snuck into the Wankhede Stadium to watch West Indies play at the iconic venue. Travelling with a group of 25, Sachin was “managed” into the venue by enterprising friends who had only 24 tickets. Being “vertically challenged” worked in Sachin’s favour as he got the opportunity to watch World Cup champions India take on the mighty West Indies in Mumbai.

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Four decades later, the venue rolled out the red carpet for the Little Master during the unveiling of his statue, nestled between the Vijay Merchant Pavilion and the Sachin Tendulkar stand. The energy in the air was infectious and was further accentuated by a dhol-tasha group which created a festive atmosphere before the curtains came down and the fireworks went off.

Accompanying Tendulkar for the unveil were his wife Anjali, daughter Sara and brother Ajit and also in attendance were Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde, BCCI secretary Jay Shah, vice-president Rajeev Shukla, treasurer Ashish Shellar, MCA president Amol Kale and former BCCI & ICC chief Sharad Pawar.

The moment countdown from 10 to 0 flashed on the giant screen next to the statue, the DJ rolled out an audio of “Sachin… Sachin” chants and it felt like 2013 – the year Sachin played his last game for India – all over again. The Little Master stood on the makeshift stage with the dignitaries and took a close look of the life-size figure made by Pramod Kamble.

Customary photo-ops with officials and family followed before the Little Master addressed a gathering of select invitees and shared his experience of playing cricket at Wankhede and how much it meant to him during his playing days.

“After coming for the first time here in 1983, I remember serving as a ball boy during the 1987 World Cup. I was right outside the home dressing room and Sunil Gavaskar invited me into the dressing room. I can’t explain that feeling of a 14-year-old seeing the dressing room from inside,” recalls Sachin.

Little did the 14-year-old know then that he would make his debut for Mumbai next year, sit in the same dressing room and be there for countless occasions during his time with the Indian cricket team. Interestingly, the seat where he first sat belonged to Sunil Gavaskar.

“When I walked into the Mumbai dressing room all seats were occupied. So I went to a corner and took a seat and placed my kit bag there. Later, someone told me it’s SMG’s seat,” reveals Sachin.

Sachin’s love affair with Mumbai and this venue is a never ending love story. He shared another interesting chapter from it during the event where he revealed how he turned up for Mumbai game hours after landing from an international assignment.

“I remember coming from New Zealand at 2:30 am in the night and played a Ranji Trophy match for Mumbai in the morning. It was not because anyone forced me to but because of my love for the team and association,” says Sachin.

BCCI secretary Jay Shah also lauded Tendulkar’s cricketing achievements and made some startling revelations.

“Out of 365 days in year, Sachin has batted on all days but May 1. Also, the only score he hasn’t scored in his career are 75 and 58,” says Shah.

After hearing this, even Tendulkar went into thinking mode, activating the computer in his head scanning the many knocks he played and made the country proud. Throughout the event, numerous other stories of Tendulkar’s playing days were shared. From how and why he refused captaincy to how he suggested MS Dhoni’s name for captaincy in 2007 to the 2011 World Cup high and then playing the last game for India at the iconic Wankhede Stadium.

It was an evening with high nostalgia quotient and an evening which would long be remembered for the moment Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar was immortalised at the Wankhede Stadium.