<p>The air at the packed Eden Gardens was thick with nostalgia as the Cricket Association of Bengal felicitated some of the famous cricketing names from India and Pakistan during the innings break of the second one-day international here on Thursday.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The CAB, which hosted its first one-day international on February 18, 1987, picked the match between the two arch-rivals to commemorate the silver jubilee of that match, honouring glittering array former players from both the countries.<br /><br />The felicitated players included several former captains and Imtiaz Ahmed, the 84-year-old who played 41 Tests for Pakistan between 1952 and 1962 as a wicketkeeper-batsman, and VVS Laxman.<br /><br /> Needless to say, the loudest cheers were reserved for Bengal’s famous son Sourav Ganguly, but the second biggest cheers were received by Laxman, who inarguably played the greatest Test innings by an Indian at this venue, a career-defining 281 against Australia in 2001.<br /><br />An appreciative crowd gave standing ovation as India’s cricketing superstars were driven around the ground in decorated jeeps before the felicitation function began. The players were presented with a shawl, a commemorative tie, a silver salver and a cheque for Rs 1 lakh by Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal.<br /><br /> CAB President Jagmohan Dalmiya and Zaka Ashraf, the chairman of the PCB, were in attendance. “It’s wonderful to meet several of India’s ex-cricketers. Bishan is a good friend of mine. I also met Sunil Gavaskar, alongside whom I played for Rest of the World and against whom too I have played for Pakistan,” said former Pak captain Intikhab Alam.<br /><br />Felicitated players: Mushtaq Mohammad, Sadiq Mohammad, Intikhab Alam, Imtiaz Ahmed, Wasim Akram, Ramiz Raja (all Pakistan). Bishan Singh Bedi, Ajit Wadekar, GR Viswanath, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Krishnamachari Srikkanth, Ravi Shastri, Sandeep Patil, Dilip Ve-ngsarkar, VVS Laxman, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Anil Kumble, Sourav Ganguly.</p>
<p>The air at the packed Eden Gardens was thick with nostalgia as the Cricket Association of Bengal felicitated some of the famous cricketing names from India and Pakistan during the innings break of the second one-day international here on Thursday.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The CAB, which hosted its first one-day international on February 18, 1987, picked the match between the two arch-rivals to commemorate the silver jubilee of that match, honouring glittering array former players from both the countries.<br /><br />The felicitated players included several former captains and Imtiaz Ahmed, the 84-year-old who played 41 Tests for Pakistan between 1952 and 1962 as a wicketkeeper-batsman, and VVS Laxman.<br /><br /> Needless to say, the loudest cheers were reserved for Bengal’s famous son Sourav Ganguly, but the second biggest cheers were received by Laxman, who inarguably played the greatest Test innings by an Indian at this venue, a career-defining 281 against Australia in 2001.<br /><br />An appreciative crowd gave standing ovation as India’s cricketing superstars were driven around the ground in decorated jeeps before the felicitation function began. The players were presented with a shawl, a commemorative tie, a silver salver and a cheque for Rs 1 lakh by Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal.<br /><br /> CAB President Jagmohan Dalmiya and Zaka Ashraf, the chairman of the PCB, were in attendance. “It’s wonderful to meet several of India’s ex-cricketers. Bishan is a good friend of mine. I also met Sunil Gavaskar, alongside whom I played for Rest of the World and against whom too I have played for Pakistan,” said former Pak captain Intikhab Alam.<br /><br />Felicitated players: Mushtaq Mohammad, Sadiq Mohammad, Intikhab Alam, Imtiaz Ahmed, Wasim Akram, Ramiz Raja (all Pakistan). Bishan Singh Bedi, Ajit Wadekar, GR Viswanath, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Krishnamachari Srikkanth, Ravi Shastri, Sandeep Patil, Dilip Ve-ngsarkar, VVS Laxman, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Anil Kumble, Sourav Ganguly.</p>
