Where is Wadekar’s Wankhede honour?

Fiftytwo years ago cricket fans thronged the streets of Mumbai to welcome Ajit Wadekarrsquos triumphant team which beat England on their home soil for the first timeThe 1971 series win in England was a watershed moment in Indian cricket just like the triumph in the West Indies earlier that year The second homecoming as Wadekar called it in his book My Cricketing Years was special ldquoI had told the boys that Bombay would outdo Delhi the team were felicitated in the Capital the previous day in the matter of welcoming us But you had to be there to believe it No foreign dignitary no politician had ever been received thusldquoAll Bombay seemed to have turned up at Santacruz As the 737 Boeing Garuda touched down on schedule the spectators cheered wildly conches were blown and a police band struck up ldquoWelcome the conquering heroesrdquo as I led the team down the gangwayldquoI must confess there was a lump in my throat as I touched my motherrsquos feet and received her blessings And there were tears of joy in wife Rekharsquos eyes as I fondly embraced her It is estimated that over 15 million people watched the motorcade as it covered the 20kilometre route to CCI There were posters bunting and arches all the way We were showered with rose petals and gulal The most touching scene was when we passed the school for the blind at Worli I was deeply moved and asked the driver to stop to receive the garlands of these kind enthusiasts There were receptions galore at Shivaji Park and the CCIrdquoA 14yearold cricketmad lad made his way from his humble dwelling in Borivli to watch the motorcade and his hero Wadekar at Shivaji Park He went on to be a club cricketer and more recently the Treasurer of the Mumbai Cricket Association MCA before he missed out on an opportunity to serve the MCA for another term losing by just one vote Jagdish Achrekar no relation to the late coach Ramakant is now pleading to some in the inner ring of power to officially announce an honour for the departed India captain ldquoWhen the association decided to name a stand after Dilip Vengsarkar it was also suggested that something should be done to perpetuate the memory of Wadekar After the Apex Council agreed that the MCA Lounge a hall be named after Wadekar it was placed before the Annual General Meeting No objection was raised but the MCA has not announced it Itrsquos disgraceful that a great cricket personality like Wadekar has not been honoured by his own state association whom he also served as an administratorrdquo Achrekar told me earlier this weekAlso read lsquoGay or straight all have right to marryrsquoI asked him why he couldnrsquot ensure this comes to fruition during his time as Treasurer 2019 to 2022 Achrekar cited several obstacles which included the pandemic ldquoHad I continued as Treasurer I would have pressed for it further The MCA can do it in time for the World Cup Wadekar cannot be passed over for an honour at Wankhede Stadiumrdquo he saidAchrekar welcomed the fact that a statue of Sachin Tendulkar is to be unveiled at Wankhede but is astounded that MCA have chosen to deny Wadekar ldquoThe statue is a nice honour for Tendulkar But look where they are placing ithellip at the entrance of the MCA Lounge In my opinion this is not the right location I think it will lack significance if placed there The statue should be in between the Vithal Divecha Pavilion and Sunil Gavaskar Stand If this is done spectators sitting in the Sachin Tendulkar Stand can see the statue while watching a game And isnrsquot it odd that fans heading to the Sachin Tendulkar Stand wonrsquot be able to see the statue since their entry is from Marine Lines and not lsquoDrsquo Roadrdquo Achrekar askedDuring our interaction Achrekar had to be coaxed into revealing the various initiatives he suggested during his term as Treasurer ldquoThe open gallery at the pavilion end which was announced recently was my idea and so is the ramp for our handicapped cricket fans Irsquom happy to see this happeningrdquo he saidThere are more recommendations he mademdashcredentials of Vinoo Mankad and Polly Umrigar at their respective gates and the naming of two overhead bridges after great Mumbai players ldquoVisitors to the Wankhede Stadium should know more about Mankad and Umrigar This will enrich the knowledge of our young cricketers too One bridge can certainly be named after Eknath Solkar There is nothing in his honour at the Stadium May I remind our current administrators that apart from being a great servant of Mumbai cricket Eknath led Mumbai to victory in the Ranji Trophy in 1981 when stars like Sunil Gavaskar Karsan Ghavri Dilip Vengsarkar Sandeep Patil and Ravi Shastri were on the tour to New Zealand The other overhead bridge can be named after another cricketer of the associationrsquos choicerdquo Achrekar remarkedDoubtless the longdelayed honour for Wadekar at Wankhede would please his family no end To Achrekar the move would give him unbridled satisfaction After all he saw the man in various avatarsmdashthrilling the crowd at Shivaji Park Gymkhana with his hooks and cuts the exhausted cricketer unwinding at the Gymkhana and urging a canteen worker to feed a little boy vada pav without the red chutney and of course the proud India captain acknowledging the publicrsquos waves and chants during the motorcade on September 13 1971I too hope Achrekarrsquos call is taken up by the MCA because as Andy Dufresne wrote to his friend Ellis lsquoRedrsquo Redding in the great film The Shawshank Redemption ldquoRemember Red hope is a good thing maybe the best of things and no good thing ever diesrdquomiddayrsquos group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stance He tweets ClaytonMurzelloSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper