Ahead of the tenth edition of the coveted Indian Premier League (IPL) in Hyderabad, the BCCI, in a heartwarming gesture conducted a felicitation ceremony for previous legends of the Indian cricket team. The golden era of Indian teaming, comprising of Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly were felicitated in a ceremony before the first game between the Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore took place at the Rajiv Gandhi Cricket Stadium.
However, fans were taken aback when they didn’t find Rahul Dravid attending the ceremony. Dravid, currently the team mentor of the Delhi Daredevils was also to be felicitated by the BCCI along with the other four legends. However, the batting great couldn’t make it to the ground and hence missed the ceremony.
The reason behind Dravid’s absence was revealed later on by an official from the BCCI. The Daredevils mentor is currently in Delhi, and with sudden thunderstorms hitting the Indian capital, all flights from Delhi were delayed. As a result, Dravid’s flight to Hyderabad got delayed and he missed out on the ceremony.
Ahead of the event, IPL Chairman Rajiv Shukla had opened up about the ceremony in detail.
“The decision was taken at the GC meeting today that five legends of Indian cricket — Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Virender Sehwag will be felicitated during the opening ceremony in Hyderabad on April 5,” Shukla said.
The first match is currently underway after the Shane Watson led Royal Challengers Bangalore opted to field first against the Sunrisers Hyderabad.