Kochi's Nehru Stadium to have a Sachin Pavilion

The Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) Monday decided to honour Sachin Tendulkar by announcing that a pavilion will be named after the master blaster at the state's only cricket stadium here.

Speaking to IANS, KCA president T.C. Mathew said the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium owned by the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) will have a VIP area in the stadium named Sachin Pavilion.

"The stadium is maintained by KCA and owned by GCDA and hence we both sat together and decided to honour him. The naming ceremony would be held on the 20th of this month as the next day is going to be the first ODI with the visiting West Indies cricket team," said Mathew.

The joint meeting also decided to have a permanent display of pictures that capture Tendulkar's intimate moments both on and off the field.

"We have invited him to be present on the occasion," said Mathew.

In a record 463 ODI matches, Tendulkar has only two five-wicket hauls and both came at the Nehru Stadium. He has picked up 154 wickets in ODIs.

Even though enthusiasm has been building up among cricket loving Keralites for the ODI match, a tiff between the KCA and the Cochin Corporation may play spoilsport as the latter is still not open to the idea of entertainment tax exemption for the organisers.

Organisers expect that it would be a sell out crowd of more than 50,000, which is the official seating capacity of the stadium.