Virender Sehwag inaugurates Feroz Shah Kotla gate named after him

The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) organized a small ceremony on Tuesday at Feroz Shah Kotla, to honour the Nawab of Najafgarh, Virender Sehwag, by renaming the stadium’s Gate No. 2 as ‘Virender Sehwag Gate’.

Sehwag has been one of the most explosive batsmen to have emerged from Delhi in the past two decades. Making his first-class debut for the state during the 1997-98 domestic season, the right-hander went on to achieve innumerable feats in Indian colours over the years.

The 39-year-old has been a crowd favourite for years and DDCA made sure his name remains etched in the history of the city’s famous cricket ground. “A gate has been named after me and I hope in the coming years, more cricketers will get to have a similar honour. "I hope later we can have dressing room, stands and other things named after cricketers. It's a good thing and positive move from DDCA" said Sehwag.

Sehwag saw many of his friends and colleagues attending it and revealed that he desired the same for such an occasion. “I had a wish that whenever such a function happens, we should call all the cricketers who have represented Delhi and India, all the people I was connected with. It is a happy occasion that players who played with me, taught me or I played first time with in Ranji Trophy, are here. Those who couldn't be here were not here.”

The former opener had initially thought that the ceremony would take place ahead of India’s upcoming Test against Sri Lanka in November and was surprised by the swift preparations. However, such swift preparations aren’t a very familiar sight in India and a debacle was bound to happen.

In bold letters on Gate No.2, Sehwag was felicitated with his incredible career stats, exhibiting his thousands of runs in ODIs, Tests and T20s. It was followed by a sentence that read, “Only Indian to score a Triple century in Test cricket’. Though 14 years younger than Sehwag and not a renowned name in world cricket, Karun Nair did pull off a similar feat last year against England in Chennai.