Kochi: In a tribute to batting legend Sachin Tendulkar, a pavilion in his name was declared open by India captain M S Dhoni at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium here today.
The venue will host the first India-West Indies ODI tomorrow. The permanent pavilion has scores of Tendulkar photographs, his white jersey with signature, a Mumbai Indians bat signed by him and other players, photos depicting the journey from childhood with a toy bat to various innings in the last 24 years.
Also on display are photographs of Tendulkar with wife Anjali and children Arjun and Sara. Tendulkar's bat with his signature would soon be displayed at the pavilion, Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) sources said.
The 40-year-old maestro retired on Saturday from international cricket after playing his landmark 200th Test in Mumbai. After looking around the pavilion, Dhoni described it as 'excellent', KCA President T C Mathew said.
West Indies team's Operational Manager and former player Richie Richardson, who was also present there, appreciated the effort of those behind it.
Among the exhibits are 49 red balls, representing the ODI centuries scored by Tendulkar and 51 white balls, the centuries the little master hit in Test cricket.
Each ball has the date of the match when Tendulkar hit a century, Mathew said.
The KCA president said this was a fitting salute to the cricketing legend.
Of the 463 one-dayers played by Tendulkar, in which he picked up 154 wickets, he has only two five wicket hauls -- both at the Jawarharlal Nehru stadium.
The 1000-odd square feet pavilion in the VIP area of the stadium is a joint initiative of Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA), which owns the stadium and the KCA.
The pavilion will be open to the public after tomorrow's match.
