Mumbai Cricket Association Is All Set To Auction Two Iconic Seats To Celebrate MS Dhoni's 2011 World Cup-Winning Six
Published - 14 Sep 2023, 12:08 PM
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The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) is planning to auction the two seats at the Wankhede Stadium, where former India captain MS Dhoni hit the match-winning six that landed in the stands during the 2011 World Cup final against Sri Lanka on April 2, 2011.
MS Dhoni, the then-Indian skipper, smacked a brilliant six over long-on off Nuwan Kulasekara’s bowling when they needed 4 runs off 11 balls. The wicketkeeper-batter guided the Indian team to its second ODI World Cup title and its first since the 1983 edition.
The MCA has featured these seats in an auction notice on its website titled ‘Request for proposal for a buyout of Hospitality Package for ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 matches at Wankhede Stadium,’ stating that “Cricket World Cup 2011 Victory Memorial Stand (2 seats) to be auctioned.”
The two seats where Dhoni’s iconic shot in the final match in Mumbai landed are referred to as the ‘2011 World Cup Memorial seats.’ The auction is expected to generate several crores of rupees, considering the emotional significance attached by India’s cricket fans to that historic shot.
Seats Will Be Permanently Named After MS Dhoni – MCA President
MCA president Amol Kale revealed that they will rename and customize two seats at the Wankhede Stadium as the ‘MS Dhoni seats’ to honour the iconic 2011 World Cup-winning moment. Amol Kale confirmed that the auction will take place in the next 10 days.
In April, reports emerged that the MCA intended to create a ‘memorial’ at the location in that stand, behind long-on, where the ball landed. However, Kale confirmed that there would not be a memorial, but instead, those seats would be specially designed and named after MS Dhoni.
“Those two special seats will be permanently named after MS Dhoni, and will be known as ‘MS Dhoni seats’. We are making something different. There’s no memorial, but those seats will be beautifully decorated and specially designed,” Kale said.
“They will like a sofa/comforter, and will have hospitality services. We will sell those seats at a premium (price). The auction will take place in the next 10 days. We will take out an ‘Expression of Interest’ and then people will bid for those seats.”
The iconic stadium will host five matches in the upcoming ODI World Cup 2023, which is set to be played between October 5 and November 19. The stadium will host India vs. Sri Lanka on November 2. India’s semi-final match will be played in Mumbai unless they face Pakistan in the semis.
