Sachin Tendulkar Honoured at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on 50th Birthday

image-lgv8pbgxSharjah West Stand named after Sachin Tendulkar (Source: Twitter)

Sachin Tendulkar has hammered 49 ODI hundreds throughout his career, including the seven he piled up at the iconic Sharjah Cricket Stadium in UAE. Out of the seven tons, he struck two of those in a gap of three days during the 1998 tri-nation tournament involving Australia and New Zealand.

The cricketer listed 143 against Australia in Sharjah, an innings that guided India to the final. A couple of days later, he whacked 134 against the same opponents at the same venue to power India to a rare overseas tri-series win.

His twin knocks there have since been labelled as the ‘Desert Storm’ by a legion of his fans and followers of the sport. To commemorate 25 years of the storm, also coinciding with the 50th birthday of the ‘Master Blaster’, the Sharjah Cricket Stadium has decided to name its west stand after the batting great.

Sharjah Cricket renames stand on Tendulkar’s 50th birthday

Sharjah Cricket Stadium CEO, Khalaf Bukhatir, has decided to pay a tribute to Sachin Tendulkar on the occasion of his 50th birthday and for the 25th anniversary of the much-celebrated ‘Desert Storm’.

Commenting on his decision to pay the tribute, Bukhatir said:

“This is our small way of expressing our gratitude to Sachin for doing so much for the game of cricket. Indeed, that was an incredible innings and it was repeated in the final,”

Reacting to the news, Tendulkar himself expressed his appreciation over the acknowledgement. He further recalled his experience of playing at the iconic venue, and personally thanked Bukhatir and his team for the gesture on his birthday. He said:

“Playing in Sharjah has always been a magnificent experience. From the electrifying atmosphere to the love, affection and support, Sharjah has been a special venue for Indian cricket fans. A big thank you to Bukhatir and his team for this kind gesture on the 25th anniversary of the Desert Storm match and my 50th birthday.”

Notably, Tendulkar was also honoured by the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) earlier on the same day. The officials at the Australian venue unveiled a gate named after the Indian batting great and former West Indies captain Brian Lara.