3 min readOct 25, 2023 08:12 AM IST
First published on: Oct 24, 2023 at 10:04 PM IST
The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) will be providing free popcorn and a cold drink to all fans turning up to watch World Cup games to be played at Wankhede Stadium.
The decision was taken by MCA president Amol Kale after the South Africa vs Bangladesh World Cup league game held at Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday.
Mumbai will be hosting the game between India and Sri Lanka on November 2, followed by Australia vs Afghanistan and the semi-finals on November 15. The fans will have to show their tickets at the counter and after getting it stamped they will be provided with free popcorn and a cold drink.
“I had proposed to provide free one time popcorn and cold drink to all fans who turn up to watch World Cup games. It will be for non-hospitality areas. Once their tickets are stamped, free popcorn and coke will be given to each fan. The MCA will bear the cost of it. We will be starting this from India vs Sri Lanka game and it will be done till the semis. The MCA Apex members have agreed to the proposal,” Amol Kale said.
Meanwhile, Kale also informed that MCA will be unveiling the Sachin Tendulkar statue on November 1 before India plays Lanka in Mumbai. MCA had decided to honour Tendulkar earlier this year and his life size statue has been prepared by a well known artist from Ahmednagar in Maharashtra.
In March, Tendulkar visited the spot where his statue would be placed. “The committee guided me, and in the area outside the MCA lounge, there will be a roundabout which will be created, and the statue will come up there. The background of it will be the stadium and all our action happened there (inside the ground). It is one spot, a crowd can come and get pictures clicked, and at the same time it is accessible,” Tendulkar had said then.
Follow all the action from the Cricket World Cup 2023 on our special World Cup section. You can also find the latest stats, like the top scorer and the highest wicket-taker of the current edition, upcoming World Cup fixtures and the points table on the site.
“My journey started from here only, I had come to the stadium to support Shardashram (Vidyamandir) senior team. I left my match and it was then that Achrekar sir reprimanded me, the journey began from there,” the former Mumbai batsman had recalled.
“Those children who used to do well in Mumbai cricket, they were kept as ball boys. I was a ball boy here too. I played Mumbai first-class cricket here and all my big moments happened at the venue.
For me, the biggest moment in my life came in the 2011 World Cup and it happened on this ground. My retirement also happened here, with this ground, I have an emotional attachment towards it and I can’t compare it with anything,” he added.
MCA will be unveiling a Sachin Tendulkar statue at the Wankhede Stadium on November 1 before India plays Sri Lanka. (Express Archive Photo by Prashant Nadkar.) 
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