Sachin Tendulkar Stand at Sharjah Cricket Stadium fuels Indian Women Cricketers' dreams

By K.R. Nayar
From Sharjah Cricket Stadium

Indian women cricketers have drawn inspiration from a special landmark at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium — the Sachin Tendulkar stand. All Indian players, upon on arrival at the stadium, could be seen looking at this stand which gives them the feeling that they are playing in one of their home venues. This is the feel the players are hoping to get when they take on Australia in a crucial match on October 13, 2024 here.

 

The Sachin Tendulkar stand at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium 

Asha Sobhana, one of the Indian team player, remarked that she decided to become a cricketer after watching Tendulkar’s innings from this stadium on television when she was just eight years old. The Sachin Tendulkar stand is situated where the "Master Blaster" hit some of his iconic sixes during his remarkable knock of 143 on April 22, 1998, followed by a score of 134 in the finals of the Coca-Cola Cup against Australia two days later. The 143-run innings, famously known as the “Desert Storm” knock, is regarded as one of the greatest in One Day International cricket history.

 

Sachin Tendulkar stand dressed up for the ICC T20 Women's World Cup. Photo: BCCI Instagram

As a reporter, I too feel a deep sense of pride having witnessed those two unforgettable knocks. Many moments from that knock still lives in my mind and will never fade from memory. It has always been a delight to recall instances from this knock with Mazhar Khan, General Manager of the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, who was also present, as well as with Ali Anwar Jafri, then joint secretary of the Sharjah Cricket Council.

 

Asha Sobhana at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Photo:  BCCI Instagram

Sobhana is not alone in her admiration for Tendulkar's knock. A generation of cricketers, including Virat Kohli, were inspired by his performance. Sobhana recalled that she watched the match at a neighbor’s house, as her family didn’t have a television at the time. "That was the day I decided I wanted to become a cricketer, even though very few girls played cricket back then," said Sobhana, who hails from Trivandrum, in a BCCI Indian Cricket team Instagram reel.

 

Kerala has produced very few cricketers for the national team until 2001 when Tinu Yohannan became the first to represent India. Some of the current women’s team players, such as Shafali Verma, Richa Ghosh, Yastika Bhatia, Shreyanka Patil, and Jemimah Rodrigues, were not even born when Tendulkar played his famous knock.

 

Many parents, inspired by Tendulkar’s performance, encouraged their children to take up cricket. Shreyanka Patil shared that the first thing her father reminded her of upon learning that the T20 World Cup would be held in the UAE was about the Sharjah Stadium and the "Desert Storm" knock.

 

Amol Muzumdar, the Indian women’s team coach at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium 

Amol Muzumdar, the Indian women’s team coach said he still remembers those big sixes from Tendulkar that danced on the roof of the Sharjah Stadium.

 

Sharjah Cricket officials unveil the Sachin Tendulkar stand on April 24, 2023 

The Sachin Tendulkar stand at Sharjah Stadium was officially unveiled on April 24, 2023, by Khalaf Bukhatir, CEO of the Sharjah Stadium. Present at the unveiling were Nasir Akram, former Secretary General of the Emirates Cricket Board and Executive Council Member of Sharjah Cricket, Mazhar Khan, and Sheila Razdan, who had managed the media relations during the 1998 match and later joined the ICC.

 

Khalaf Bukhatir speaks during the Sachin Tendulkar stand unveiling function.

Khalaf Bukhatir had remarked during the unveiling, "This is our small way of expressing our gratitude to Sachin for his immense contribution to cricket. That innings was extraordinary, and he repeated his brilliance in the final. Through the years of the now-legendary CBFS initiative, we at Sharjah have always strived to honor great players, even after their retirement. We believe it is our duty as administrators to pay tribute to those who have raised the bar and dedicated their lives to cricket, and we will continue to do so."

 

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