MS Dhoni might get a permanent seat at the iconic Wankhede Stadium

MS Dhoni, the former Indian cricketer, might be rewarded with a permanent seat at the renowned Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The veteran, on Saturday, August 15, retired from international cricket, and since then wishes have been pouring in for him from every nook and corner of the world.

Now the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has decided to honour the Jharkhand-born. As far as the stadium goes, Dhoni’s seat will be at the exact place where he hit the winning six off Nuwan Kulasekara in the 2011 World Cup final.

Ajinkya Naik, the MCA’s apex council member, wrote a letter with the proposal, two days after Dhoni decided to call it a day from the highest level. The letter has been accessed by Indian Express.

A special moment for MS Dhoni

“As an act of gratitude and tribute to Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s immense contribution to Indian cricket, the MCA can devote a permanent seat on his name at the stand where his famous World Cup-winning six had landed. We can find out the area where the ball landed – and which seat it was flying to – after Dhoni smashed it to win the 2011 World Cup,” Naik’s letter read.

“We can paint and decorate the seat in a unique way to celebrate Dhoni’s association with historical Wankhede Stadium in Indian cricket history. The seat could also be used as a major tourist attraction, like a paid tour of the stadium perhaps.

“It will allow the fans to relive the most glorious moment in Indian cricket and it will be part of MCA’s heritage. We can have a plaque on that seat with some special text to honour that moment,” the letter added.

The MCA Council is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, August 18 where Dhoni getting a seat in stadium will be discussed upon. Naik also put forth a suggestion of finding the famous ball of the 2011 WC final and storing it in the MCA’s planned museum.

The Wankhede Stadium has names of a number of renowned cricketers associated with it. Even as Sachin Tendulkar, Vijay Merchant and Sunil Gavaskar have stands by their names, there are gates with names of Polly Umrigar and Vinoo Mankad.