Legendary former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar honoured with a cricket ground named after him

Leicester cricket ground named after Sunil Gavaskar

Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has been honoured with a cricket ground that has been named after him in East Midlands, England.

Gavaskar was thrilled to have been a part of such a special occasion and posted a picture of him on the Leicester ground on Instagram.

His post read, ““Blessed to have a ground in Leicester named after me. This is a recognition not for me but for all those who played with me from tennis ball days to the internationals, my family and last but not least, my fans and well wishers. Thank you all for being part of this unforgettable journey.”

Known to be as the ‘fearless batter of the 70s and 80s’, he has amassed 13,214 international runs in his memorable cricketing career that spanned 16 years. During his long and successful cricketing career, Gavaskar also slammed 35 centuries and had numerous records associated to his name.

According to ICC Cricket Schedule, he “was the first cricketer in the history of the sports to score 10,000 test runs. He achieved this feat, playing against arch-rivals Pakistan on March 7, 1987, in Ahmedabad”.

The 76-year-old is the first Indian cricket player to have a cricket ground named after him in the UK as well as Europe.

He already has two overseas cricket grounds named after him – one in Kentucky in the US, and the other in Tanzania’s Zanzibar. Reports state that the honour was presented to the legend by British Indian MP Keith Vaz who has been representing Leicester in the parliament for over three decades.