Melbourne’s Melton City names roads after Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar and other cricketing icons

Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli are two of the iconic names in the history of Indian cricket. Their fandom in Australia also trumps many legendary names in the sport. The same can be seen after the City of Melton in Melbourne, Victoria, named streets after them. An upcoming housing estate decided to bestow them and a few other cricketers with the honour, naming the streets.

Even as the Master Blaster’s road has been named as ‘Tendulkar Drive’, Virat’s is the ‘Kohli Crescent’. Varun Sharma, a property developer, said that the initiative has been greeted with plenty of positive responses. He also wishes for Virat to drive on the road in Melbourne when India tours Australia later this year for a bilateral series.

What if Virat Kohli drives on his own road?

“As soon as we announced street names after cricketers, the inquiries doubled. Who would not like to live on Kohli crescent? You never know Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli might drive by the street when he is in Melbourne this December,” Sharma was quoted as saying in SBS Hindi.

Apart from Sachin and Virat, the other players, whose names have been used are Wasim Akram (Akram Way), Richard Hadlee (Hadlee Street), Kapil Dev (Dev Terrace), Jacques Kallis (Kallis Way), Sir Garfield Sobers (West Indies), Steve Waugh (Waugh Street).

City of Melton Mayor Cr Lara Carli was also a happy lot after the positive reviews. “Street names in our City are usually submitted by developers and approved by Council if they meet Office of Geographic Names guidelines,” the Mayor mentioned.

“It seems these cricket-themed names are already popular with cricket fans in our community and beyond. It’s great to see a positive response to these names, and it’s something I’m sure the developer and surrounding residents can be proud of,” Lara added.

However, Vivek Handa, a property consultant based in Melbourne, believes that street names aren’t enough to convince people into buying properties. “In my opinion, it doesn’t matter what the name of the street is. When people plan to buy land or house they check many other parameters,” he said. He mentioned that proximity to schools, hospitals, transport should be taken into account.