Ramola Wankhede reflects on father’s role behind Mumbai's third Test venue

Former BCA president Sheshrao Wankhede; (right) MCA’s iconic Wankhede Stadium

The Wankhede Stadium, whose golden jubilee as an international venue is being celebrated by the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) this month, has witnessed many memorable performances including an ODI World Cup win by India in 2011.

And just like the cricketers who showcased their fighting spirit to win games across all formats, grit and determination played a role in the building of this iconic ground which became the city's third Test venue after Bombay Gymkhana and Brabourne Stadium. Those qualities were brought to the fore by Sheshrao Wankhede, the then Bombay Cricket Association president, himself.

The first Test at the Wankhede Stadium was held 50 Januarys ago when Clive Lloyd's West Indies clashed with MAK Pataudi's men.

Wankhede's daughter Ramola Wankhede Mahajani at her south Mumbai home. Pics/Atul Kamble

Earlier this week, the late Wankhede's daughter, Ramola Wankhede Mahajani, turned back the clock at her south Mumbai home and spoke to Sunday mid-day on how her father got the motivation to build a new stadium which would belong to the BCA through an argument with former India batsman Vijay Merchant, the then president of the Cricket Club of India.

The Wankhedes are a sporting family. Sheshrao and his wife Kusumtai used to play tennis and were mixed doubles partners in Morris College team at Nagpur. Their elder daughter Kundatai was a badminton player, while Ramola was a track and field athlete and a table tennis player, who represented St Xavier's College in Mumbai.

Edited excerpts from a chat with Ramola Wankhede Mahajani.

The refusal
CCI had their own Brabourne Stadium and BCA had to depend on them to organise Tests. There was an agreement for CCI to give 1,500 seats to BCA during matches, but they didn't give all.

Once, a few young MLAs told my dad [then speaker in Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha and BCA president] that they wanted to play a friendly match at CCI. So along with Prof MV Chandgadkar, MW Desai, who was the BCA vice-president and dad went to meet Merchant at his home. When dad requested him to allow them to play the MLAs match at CCI, Merchant refused it. A heated discussion followed. Dad told him, "If you don't allow us to play a single match and not consider our other demands, we [BCA] will build our own stadium."

Thrown a challenge
Merchant said to my dad, "How can you Marathi people build a stadium?" Merchant had a grudge against Marathi people. My dad and the others left his home without saying anything more. But he told his BCA colleagues that they will now build their own stadium.

The vital CM visit
My dad went to then Maharashtra CM Vasantrao Naik and requested him to allot BCA a piece of land between Marine Drive and the railway tracks to build a stadium. Then he decided to build a stadium of 40,000 capacity just 500 metres away from the CCI.
Shashi Prabhu, a young architect then, made a plan for the stadium. Under [Test player] Polly Umrigar's guidance, pitches were made and later the stadium was constructed in record time.

‘Happy, satisfied, emotional'
When stadium was fully constructed and ready for the Test, dad was very happy, satisfied and emotional after 14 months of continuous following. People wrote various things and criticised dad. People used to say that the stadium is going to collapse because it's only a structure built with cement and steel. But, dad said, "it will never fall down because it is built with cement, steel and Wankhede.

Honoured Merchant too
My dad made Merchant a life member of the BCA and put his photograph in the BCA office. When people asked him why he did it for a man who had insulted him and BCA, dad said, "If he had not behaved with us in that manner, we wouldn't have our own stadium today."

Modest Naik
My dad suggested naming the stadium after Vasantrao Naik saheb because he had given the plot to the BCA for the stadium. When Prof Chandgadkar and Desai
went to meet CM saheb, he said: "I didn't do anything. Whatever is done is done by Sheshrao, so his name deserves to be given to the stadium." It was a big honour for dad to have the stadium named after him and that too while he was alive.

Wankhede, the disciplinarian
Dad [BCA president from 1963-64 to 1986-87] was very strict and never gave us any special treatment during international matches. We were not allowed to be in the President Box. We got only a couple of passes to watch matches and that too from the G Block. We were not even allowed to be on the outfield. He only allowed his granddaughter Mukta when she was little, to roam around.