MCA member keen to give Dhoni permanent ‘seat’ at the Wankhede Stadium
MCA Apex Council member Ajinkya Naik has written a proposal to the association asking them to devote a permanent seat - the one where the last six in the 2011 WC final landed - to MS Dhoni. Meanwhile, three blocks in the stadium were named after the legendary Mumbaikar Dilip Vengsarkar.
It is not often that one shot defines the entire cricketing legacy of a nation, but MS Dhoni’s six off Nuwan Kulasekara in the 2011 World Cup Final managed to do so. Dhoni’s straight six over long-on in the 49th over, delivered India their first World Cup title in 28 years and transformed the face of cricket in the country. Such was the impact of that one hit that it is now widely regarded as the single biggest and greatest sporting moment in the country’s history.
Thus in order to honour the moment and the man who made it happen, MCA Apex Council member Ajinkya Naik has written to the Mumbai Cricket Association requesting the association to name the seat in which the six landed after MS Dhoni. Such a gesture, according to Naik, will be an ‘act of gratitude’ for the legendary cricketer.
“As an act of gratitude and tribute to Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s immense contribution to Indian cricket, the MCA can devote a permanent seat on his name at the stand where his famous World Cup-winning six had landed,” Naik wrote in his letter to the MCA, reported Indian Express.
“We can find out the area where the ball landed – and which seat it was flying to – after Dhoni smashed it to win the 2011 World Cup.”
While no decision has been made regarding Naik’s request, the MCA have, however, confirmed that they will be honouring another former Indian skipper at the Wankhede stadium. In its Apex Council meeting on Tuesday, the association decided to name three blocks in the stadium after legendary Mumbaikar and former Indian skipper Dilip Vengsarkar.