One of the greatest cricketers of all time, MS Dhoni is a name that resonates with every cricket fan in the country. Dhon's aura goes beyond the sport, all thanks to what he has done for his country over the years. As entire India celebrated the 12th anniversary of the team winning the 2011 ODI World Cup, the MCA president confirmed a big decision, to name a seat at the Wankhede Stadium after the wicket-keeper batter, that too at the exact spot where his title-winning six had landed.
In a chat with the Indian Express, Amol Kale, confirmed that the seat where Dhoni's six against Nuwan Kulasekara landed, will be named after him at the stadium.
"The MCA took a decision today (Monday) to name a seat inside the stadium after MS Dhoni. The spot will be where his match-winning six landed against Sri Lanka in the final of the 2011 World Cup. We will be requesting MS Dhoni to come to the stadium for the inauguration where he will also be presented with a memento," Kale said.
The Wankhede Stadium already has stands named after greats like Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar and Vijay Merchant. There are also gates named after Polly Umrigar and Vinoo Mankad.
On the occasion of the 12th anniversary of India's ODI World Cup triumph in 2011, Dhoni also shared a few anecdotes from the final.
"The best feeling was 15-20 minutes (before the winning moment)," said Dhoni, as quoted by ICC.
"We did not need a lot of runs, the partnership was well-placed, there was a lot of dew. And the stadium started to sing Vande Mataram. That atmosphere I feel is very difficult to recreate - maybe in this [upcoming 2023] World Cup, there is a similar scenario, once the stadium, the fans start contributing."
"You know, it is a very difficult (atmosphere) one to replicate. But it can only be replicated if the occasion is similar to that (in 2011) and there are like 40, 50 or 60,000 people who are singing."
"To me, it was not the winning moment, it was 15-20 minutes ago when emotionally I was very high. And at the same time, I wanted to get done with it. We knew that we will win this from here, and it was very difficult for us to lose. So yes, you know it was more of a sense of satisfaction, job done, let us move on from here," he had said.