MUMBAI: In a rare gathering of cricket history, three legends who achieved landmark Test batting milestones\u2014Sunil Gavaskar, Allan Border and Sachin Tendulkar\u2014were present together for a celebration in Mumbai. The event was hosted by Ravi Shastri, and it took place at a five-star hotel on Wednesday night as part of the excitement around a new naming at the Wankhede Stadium. The line-up brought together the first player to reach 10,000 Test runs, the first to cross 11,000, and the only man to reach 15,000, with Tendulkar being the one recognised for the 12,000 milestone as well.<\/p>\n
On April 9, the Mumbai Cricket Association held a glittering function at the Wankhede Stadium where a stand was named in honour of Shastri. The location was especially fitting\u2014positioned below the commentators\u2019 box. During the same ceremony, the stadium gates were dedicated to Indian cricket figures from the 1970s, Dilip Sardesai and Eknath Solkar, along with Diana Edulji, the former captain of the India women\u2019s team.<\/p>\n
Later, Shastri addressed the crowd with visible emotion at the party, which carried a high-spirited atmosphere befitting the host\u2019s larger-than-life personality. He said, \u201cI truly value everyone who is here. Some of these people may have known me for 40 years, others for 30 or 20 years\u2014yet they have all played a role in my journey. My mother, Lakshmi, my wife, Ritu Singh, and my daughter, Aleka, are here as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking about the quality and reputation of the players after whom the Wankhede stand is named, Shastri delivered a motivational message to the audience. He remarked, \u201cYou have to work extremely hard to earn that kind of recognition at the Wankhede Stadium. I have colleagues here who already have a place named after them\u2014and three of them are present tonight. So before I join their company, let me call out their names: Sunil Manohar Gavaskar, Dilip Balwant Vengsarkar and Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. Together, the four of us have played 521 Tests.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shastri then acknowledged Border, the celebrated former Australia captain, under whom the Australians lifted the 1987 World Cup on Indian soil. He added, \u201cI mentioned the names\u2014so why don\u2019t we take one special name tonight? He is here. Thanks to \u2018Sunny\u2019 (Gavaskar). His name is Allan Border. Among all the players I\u2019ve faced, either as a teammate or opponent, he was one of the toughest competitors. We shared good mornings and good evenings, both on and off the field. Sometimes it was different on the field, but you learned the game\u2014played the hard way, and still maintained fairness, the Australian way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Border is currently in India to watch three IPL matches, including the marquee fixture between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings on Thursday night at the Wankhede Stadium. The former left-handed batter had previously revealed in June 2023 that he was diagnosed with Parkinson\u2019s disease in 2016.<\/p>\n
A number of notable names from Indian cricket also attended Shastri\u2019s celebrations. Among those present were former India fast bowler Zaheer Khan, Shastri\u2019s 1983 World Cup teammate Balwinder Singh Sandhu, Sanjay Manjrekar, Yajurvindra Singh, Nilesh Kulkarni, and Jatin Paranjape, who is currently part of the BCCI\u2019s Cricket Advisory Committee. Also in attendance were former Mumbai captain and opener Shishir Hattangadi, a close friend of Shastri, along with MCA president Ajinkya Naik.<\/p>\n
Shastri\u2019s connection with the Wankhede Stadium goes beyond the honours\u2014he enjoyed considerable success there during his playing career. In the Ranji Trophy season of 1984-85, he struck Baroda\u2019s spinner Tilak Raj for six sixes in an over. That same season, in the final against Delhi, he produced a match-winning spell, taking eight wickets for 91 using his left-arm spin. He then helped lead a young Mumbai side to the Ranji Trophy title in 1993-94, a campaign that also marked his farewell from first-class cricket.<\/p>\n
Across his Test career, Shastri played six of his 80 matches at the Wankhede Stadium. In those games, he scored 457 runs at an average of 57.12, including two centuries, and he also took 17 wickets at 29.94, with his best figures being four for 45.<\/p>\n
Stay tuned for the latest IPL Live Score, IPL news, the IPL Schedule, and updates from the Points Table, including the race for the IPL Orange Cap and IPL Purple Cap.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MUMBAI: In a rare gathering of cricket history, three legends who achieved landmark Test batting milestones\u2014Sunil Gavaskar, Allan Border and Sachin Tendulkar\u2014were present together for…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":4784,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"IPL News: Gavaskar, Border, Tendulkar at Wankhede Milestone","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Witness a rare cricket reunion in Mumbai as Gavaskar, Border and Tendulkar celebrate Test batting milestones with Ravi Shastri ahead of Wankhede buzz.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"\n