Ajinkya Rahane to Establish Sports Facility on Plot Once Allotted to Sunil Gavaskar

Ajinkya Rahane, Indian cricket veteran, has been granted a plot in Bandra by the Maharashtra government to build a sports facility. The plot was initially allocated to Sunil Gavaskar in 1988 but remained unused. Rahane expressed gratitude via Instagram for the allocation.

Indian middle-order veteran batter Ajinkya Rahane has been granted a plot of land in Bandra to set up a state-of-the-art sports facility that will include a cricket academy. This decision was confirmed by the Maharashtra cabinet during a meeting overseen by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

The 2,000 square meters plot at Bandra Reclamation will be leased to Rahane for thirty years. The same plot was allocated to cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar in 1988 for an indoor cricket center, but no development took place, leading the government to reclaim the land in 2022. The plot had deteriorated and was being misused by local slum dwellers.

The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) recommended that the plot be assigned to Rahane, a proposal which the state cabinet approved on Monday. Rahane expressed his gratitude to the government on Instagram for the land allocation.

Rahane has had an illustrious career since his international debut in 2011, representing India across all formats and scoring over 8,414 runs in 195 matches with an average of 35.95. His Test cricket skills are well-renowned, boasting 5,077 runs including 12 centuries. He also has notable performances in ODIs and T20Is.

Rahane's last appearance for India was in a Test match against the West Indies in July last year. Recently, he played for Leicestershire in the County Championship Division Two and the One Day Cup, where he delivered commendable performances, adding to his first-class career accomplishments in Mumbai cricket.

(With inputs from agencies.)