India's batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar was felicitated by the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) on Monday, three days ahead of his final cricket match in Mumbai. The cricket facility in Kandivali was renamed as Sachin Tendulkar Gymkhana.
The felicitation programme was attended by dignitaries like Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, MCA president Sharad Pawar and members of the India and West Indies cricket teams.
Tendulkar said at the function that seeing his name at the entrance of the club was a special feeling and thanked MCA for the gesture. Pawar was all praise for the Little Master, saying that cricket followers will miss "'Saaaachin, Saaaachin" chants in the stadium.
Tendulkar will play his final Test against West Indies starting Thursday (14-18 November) at the Wankhede Stadium. He had announced on 10 October that he would retire from all forms of cricket after his 200th Test.
The Little Master has scored 15, 847 runs from 199 Test matches so far. He has broken many records during his illustrious career spanning over two decades, including the highest run-getter in both Tests and ODIs, 100 international hundreds (51 in Tests and 49 in ODIs), and the first man to hit a double hundred in ODIs.
