Gavaskar, Tendulkar go under cover

Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar are the two most respected cricketers of Mumbai

Gavaskar, Tendulkar go under cover

Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar are the two most respected cricketers of Mumbai. The stands named after the two icons hold a special place at the Wankhede Stadium. Over the years, they have become symbolic.

However, something was amiss when one didn't see the names displayed at the renovated stadium yesterday. Apparently, all the stand names were hidden behind the World Cup 2011 banner.

A former cricketer who was in the stands was not pleased. "Gavaskar and Tendulkar are legendary figures.

Even though it is an ICC event, one has to be careful," said the cricketer on the condition of anonymity.

The other stands are named after Vithal Divecha and Vijay Merchant.

Lalchand Rajput, Joint Secretary of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), said: "We have taken note of this. The ICC had not taken any measurement of the banner. There was no time to re-do it. But for the next match we will ensure the stand names are visible."

Can we have some cleanliness, please!
Au00a0former cricketer who was at the Garware Pavilion was upset at the cleanliness aspect.

According to him, there was a lot of dust on the seats and there was no attendant to clean up the mess.
"It was bad, but since it is the first game, I can understand. I am confident it will not happen for the next two matches," said the former cricketer.

Scribes pay tribute to Paddy
Journalists paid tribute to noted sports correspondent Pradeep Vijayakar, who passed away in January due to cancer. The scribes observed two-minute silence in memory of Paddy (as he was affectionately called), who has reported on five cricket World Cups apart from other international tournaments in various sports. He was sorely missed in the new Wankhede Stadium press box yesterday.

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