Wankhede gets the nod for Sachin's last Test

Once Sachin Tendulkar decided to announce on Thursday that he will call it a day after his 200th Test, it was only a matter of time before the venue for his momentous match would be finalised. And yesterday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officially awarded Tendulkar's 200th Test to his home ground Wankhede Stadium.

Sachin Tendulkar during a Ranji Trophy match at Wankhede last year. Pic/AFP.

"We have got the match. Wankhede will host it," Ravi Savant, BCCI vice-president, told MiD DAY yesterday.u00a0"The Board president (N Srinivasan) has confirmed it to me," added Savant, who is also the president of Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA).

The development also put to rest speculation that Tendulkar's landmark Test would go to Kolkata's Eden Gardens based on the BCCI's rotation policy or Mumbai's Cricket Club of India that was reconsidered for international matches after the Board's AGM in Chennai recently. As per the board's venue rotation policy, Mumbai was not in contention for the match.

The MCA, however, had written to the Board president, requesting to host the match out of turn.u00a0Later, in a media briefing Savant, without going into too much detail, said: "After Tendulkar's request to play his 200th Test match on home soil, the BCCI has today decided to award the match to Wankhede."

Savant assured the occasion will be a grand one. "At the moment we are preparing for our Association's elections (October 18). So we can't plan anything right now, as the new committee that will be elected will have its own ideas. But it will definitely be grand," Savant concluded.