Viswanath to be chief guest at Madhav Mantri Trophy inauguration

MUMBAI: The

Mumbai Cricket Association

has invited India's batting great Gundappa Viswanath as the chief guest at the inauguration of the special 'Madhav Mantri 100 years Centenary Tournament' on October 30.


Matches in 'A' and B Division will be played with the white ball and coloured clothing, will be of 50 overs-a-side duration, and will serve as the selection trial tournament for the Vijay Hazare Trophy, which is the BCCI's domestic One-Day tournament.

"We'll offer a handsome prize money to the winners," an MCA official told TOI.

Matches in the 'C' to 'G' division will be organised in the 45 overs-a-side format, and will be played with the red ball and white clothing. The MCA is organising this tournament this year to celebrate the former India wicketkeeper's birth centenary. Mantri was born on September 1, 1921.

Viswanath will also attend the felicitation function of batting greats Sunil Gavaskar and Dilip Vengsarkar, and a function to celebrate Mantri's birth centenary year, at the

Wankhede Stadium

a day earlier on October 29. The MCA will gift a hospitality box to Gavaskar and inaugurate a stand after Vengsarkar. Known as a stylish batsman in his time, Viswanath, who hails from Karnataka, scored 6,080 runs in 91 Tests@41.93, with 14 hundreds and 35 fifties.