The former Indian opening batsman Sunil Gavaskar was probably the first cricketing superstar of the country because of the way he batted for India in the pre-helmet era against the fearsome fast bowlers of West Indies back in the 70s and the 80s.
Sunil Gavaskar later also became the first ever batsman in the history of test cricket to cross the tally of 10,000 runs. It was a huge feat at that point in time and is still a rare feat that has not been achieved by too many batsmen.
Cricket has moved forward from those days and the whole game has been modernized and commercialized with white ball cricket and big-hitting coming into the picture, but the contributions of Sunil Gavaskar to Indian cricket haven’t been forgotten around the world.
There has been a ground already named after Sunil Gavaskar in the Kentucky area of the United States of America (USA) and there is another ground going through its finishing touches in the Zanzibar area of the African nation Tanzania which is also named after the former Indian opener.
Now the news has come through that the Leicester Cricket Ground, the ownership of which lies with Bharat Sports and Cricket Club, has decided to name the ground after Gavaskar to acknowledge his massive role in inspiring many generations of Indian cricketers.
Sunil Gavaskar is expected to be in the UK for the ground naming ceremony
Leicester is an area in the United Kingdom that has a large Indian diaspora and it had an Indian-origin Member of Parliament named Keith Vaz for a period of more than three decades.
Sunil Gavaskar is himself expected to be present at the ceremony in Leicester, where the naming of the ground will take place. Gavaskar, while talking to the Times of India, expressed his gratitude towards the gesture of Bharat Sports and Cricket Club and said that he is honored that the ground is going to be named after him.
