Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) celebrated the 50th anniversary felicitation week of Wankhede Stadium with a glittering felicitation ceremony that honored former male and female Mumbai cricket team captains. The celebration was held within the stadium in the presence of cricketing icons, including none other than former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar, who happened to be one of the first Indian players at the Wankhede Stadium when India first played a Test match against the West Indies way back in 1974. Gavaskar expressed his heartfelt sentiments during the ceremony and here is what he said during the event “It is so good to be back at this iconic venue, a venue that has given Indian cricket such great moments. Today is the start of the 50th anniversary celebration week of the iconic Wankhede Stadium and as an opening batter, I could not miss the start. I extend my heartfelt wishes to the MCA and express my profound gratitude for the opportunities they provided me from my school days. I owe my success to the support and encouragement I received from the MCA,” The felicitation ceremony took place in the presence of MCA President Ajinkya Naik along with MCA Vice President Sanjay Naik, Secretary Abhay Hadap, Treasurer Arman Mallick, Jt Secretary Deepak Patil and former President Vijay Patil. It had Sanjay Manjrekar, Wasim Jaffer, Raju Kulkarni, Chandrakant Pandit, Lalchand Rajput, Shobha Pandit, and Arundhati Ghosh, to name a few of the stalwarts who participated in the glorious Mumbai cricket heritage. On this occasion, the SJAM was also given the felicitation for the association's efforts towards Mumbai cricket. Also Read | 'Samson should be preferred over Pant,'-Harbhajan Singh Weighs in on India’s Champions Trophy Squad As part of the week-long celebrations, two cricket matches were played. The first match saw the MCA team beating the Sports Journalists Association of Mumbai by five runs. In the second match, the IAS Officers team defeated the Consul Generals team by 20 runs. Speaking on the occasion, MCA President Ajinkya Naik said “Wankhede Stadium’s 50th anniversary is a special occasion for us. Today was the start of the grand celebration and our main goal behind this week-long event is to inform the next generation about Mumbai’s cricket history and contributions of men’s and women’s players who played for Mumbai and inspire the young generation to take forward this legacy.” The 50th anniversary celebrations will continue throughout the week. MCA will felicitate the groundsmen of MCA's clubs and grounds and organize Polly Umrigar Health Camp and special lunch for them on January 15 followed by felicitation of the members of the Mumbai team which played the first first-class match at the Wankhede Stadium in 1974. The grand show is on January 19, 2025, and tickets for the grand show are available on District by Zomato and Insider.in. Starting at ₹300, tickets will give fans a chance to be part of this historic celebration and watch an exciting evening.