Before the ‘500th test’ match between India and New Zealand got a kick start, before the players came padded on the ground, the honorable Board of Cricket Control in India facilitated some of the former players and skippers of the test matches.
This ceremony also marked the presence of former skipper Saurabh Ganguly and Ravi Shastri, who were believed to have turned rivals after the Indian Coach Selection. In this, Shastri accused Ganguly of not being fair to him while the coach selection process was on and due to this, the post went to former Indian spinner Anil Kumble.
Despite their previous rivalries, these two skippers came face to face and attended the ceremony.
On the occasions the former players that attended the ceremony were Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Ajit Wadekar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble, K Srikkanth, Mohammad Azharuddin, Ravi Shastri, Kapil Dev and Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
The ceremony was graced with the presence of honorable Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Mr. Ram Naik who presented mementoes and shawls to all the former skippers. Current skipper Virat Kohli too was honored on the occasion.
Apart from inviting the former skippers from the men’s cricket team, BCCI also invited skippers of the women’s cricket team who also received the mementoes and reward, similar to the men as per the Latest Sport News.
BCCI however did not invite the former skippers Bishan Singh Bedi and Gundappa Vishwanath to the celebration ceremony of ‘500th test match’. Bedi has led Indian team in 22 test matches while Vishwanath also did his service in a couple of test matches for India.
Indian test team cap has been held by 285 players in which 32 of them were selected captains. C. K. Naidu was the first Indian skipper in 1932 while the current one is Virat Kohli.
Among the players, Sachin Tendulkar holds the record for playing most test matches in India as well as in the world. He has played 200 test matches out of 500 and this itself is a tremendous feat for the Indian team.
The occasion also had the presence of Mr. Anurag Thakur, the BCCI president and Mr. Rajeev Shukla, the chairman of Indian Premier League.
When asked about inviting Bishan Singh Bedi, Mr. Rajeev Shukla said, “I sent him an email and even tried contacting him over phone on the number that I had but wasn't able to speak to him or get a response from him.” “I have huge respect for Bedi ji. As a student, I saw him hitting huge sixes at this very Green Park. How can we even think of not inviting him. It is our loss,” he added.
Meanwhile, Mr. Rajeev Shukla said that he was happy that players attended the ceremony in spite of tough travels. Ajit Wadekar, the former skipper was felicitated when the match commenced as he was a bit late to arrive from the Mumbai airport. But nevertheless, the players arrived and it was a great occasion after all.