MCA to give Tendulkar 500 tickets for his last Test

Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) president Sharad Pawar yesterday announced that their newly-built lavish, but controversial Kandivli clubhouse would be named after Sachin Tendulkar, who will retire after his 200th Test match at the Wankhede Stadium from November 14-18.

“We want to organise a grand show on November 11. We have requested BCCI president N Srinivasan that we want to invite the Indian team and the West Indian team which in principle he has accepted.

Sharad Pawar

We have also requested the BCCI president to be present along with all his office-bearers. We also invited the honourable chief minister of Maharashtra (Prithviraj Chavan) which he has accepted.

A lot of other dignitaries like Member of Parliaments, government officials and others would also be present. We have also decided to invite all Ranji Trophy players, Test cricketers from Mumbai and this includes both men’s and women’s team,” Pawar said at a press conference.

There would not be any MCA felicitation for Tendulkar on the day of the match. “This naming programme is our felicitation. There is a possibility that the BCCI will have a felicitation for Tendulkar 10 minutes prior to the match,” Pawar said.

Pawar said Tendulkar’s photograph would be embossed on both sides of the tickets. “This will be the specialty of this particular match,” Pawar said before adding, “We will try to get Sachin Tendulkar souvenirs which will be available here and it will be for sale.

Pawar clarified that Tendulkar has not asked for any tickets. “He has not asked even for a single ticket. The MCA will give him 500 tickets,” he said.u00a0MCA’s Kandivli property has been in the news for not receiving an Occupation Certificate (OC).

It was one of the prime reasons why the inauguration was postponed in July. The construction has also run into controversy after Mumbai’s mayor Sunil Prabhu accused the MCA of flouting norms and “cheating” Mumbaikars in the name of promoting cricket among the masses.u00a0

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