Leicester Cricket Ground Set To Be Named After Sunil Gavaskar

India’s official representative in world cricket, Sunil Gavaskar. A cricket venue in Leicester, England, will get the name of the legendary batting player on Saturday.

He already has stadiums named after him in Kentucky, the US, and Zanzibar, Tanzania. Gavaskar is the first Indian cricketer to have a ground named after him in England or anyplace else in Europe. It is a 5-acre sports field.

Sunil Gavaskar Delighted After Ground Is Named After Him

Gavaskar (73), who is in London, told TOI on Thursday, “I am delighted and honoured that a ground in Leicester is being named after me. Leicester is a city with possibly the strongest supporters of the game, especially Indian cricket, and therefore it is a huge honour indeed.”

Gavaskar will come to Leicester to formally present his name plaque at the Bharat Sports and Cricket Club-owned stadium. His enormous likeness has already been painted on the pavilion’s full back wall.

There Is Now A Part Of Britain That Is Forever Sunil Gavaskar: Keith Vaz

The programme was started by Keith Vaz, the longest-serving Indian-origin MP in the UK, who has served as Leicester’s representative in the UK parliament for 32 years. Vaz is now the leader of the Integration Foundation, a diaspora organisation.

“We are thrilled and honoured that Gavaskar has agreed to have this pitch and ground named after him. 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.

Nothing delights the Indian population of Leicester more than when an all-time great visits us. There is now a part of Britain that is forever Gavaskar,” Vaz said.

We Could Not Think Of A Better Role Model For Our Young Players Than Sunil Gavaskar: Rash Patel

The change occurs shortly after a stadium in Zanzibar bearing the name of the former Indian captain is completed. In 2017, he had the Kentucky stadium dedicated in his honour. Gavaskar, who earlier held the record for both most runs and most hundreds in Test matches, is the first batter to surpass 10,000 runs in Test cricket.

Bharat Sports and Cricket Club’s Rash Patel remarked, “We have been in existence for 68 years. We could not think of a better role model for our young players than Gavaskar. It is wonderful that he has agreed to our plans. It is so special for future generations of cricketers.”

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