Ravi Shastri Stand Unveiled at Wankhede Stadium
Ravi Shastri Stand Unveiling. Image: Revsportz Shamik Chakrabarty, Mumbai In his first Test, in New Zealand in 1981, Ravi Shastri batted at No. 10. A year-and-a-half later, he was promoted to open the innings in Pakistan, against a marauding Imran Khan. Sunil Gavaskar, then India captain, preferred him over the specialist openers in the squad. Shastri’s response was a century. He would go on to play 80 Tests and 150 ODIs, emerging as one of the premier all-rounders in the world in the 1980s. He was the Champion of Champions at the 1985 World Championship of Cricket in Australia. On Thursday, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) honoured him by naming a stand after him at Wankhede Stadium. Maybe, it should have been done a long ago. Better late than never. “My first visit at this venue was in 1976 — an India versus New Zealand Test,” said Shastri at the programme. “I watched it from the North Stand, a place where cricket is understood. I saw the great spin quartet. I saw Glenn Tur...