New Delhi: Ganpati Bappa has arrived as every Indian welcomes Lord Ganesha to their homes on the auspicious occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi on Saturday (September 7). As the whole of India is celebrating the homecoming of the Lord, the celebrations stand out in the state of Maharashtra, where Ganpati isn’t just a mere God but an emotion. Specially in the city of Mumbai, the 10-day festival is celebrated wholeheartedly.
When it comes to Mumbai, the cricket world hears the name of Rohit Sharma who is well-known for his worshipping of Lord Ganesha. Rohit used to lead the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Mumbai Indians (MI), which on the account of Ganesh Chaturthi, shared a creative yet heartwarming post on their social media handles. The post had Rohit along with other MI players such as Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Harmanpreet Kaur, and Amelia Kerr.
MI wanted to display a cricket-themed Ganeshotsav as Rohit was at the forefront of the creative post reading a holy book on Ganpati with Surya standing at his back with folded hands. Pandya took on the musical instrument table while Kerr grabbed the manjira. Meanwhile, Harmanpreet was seen holding a plate full of lamps. The image seems to be artificial intelligence (AI) generated as players are presented in a re-imagined version.
The post was shared with a caption – “Favourite time of the year. Happy Ganesh Chaturthi to all of you (in Marathi).”
Here’s the post by MI –
Favourite time of the year 💙
तुम्हा सर्वांना गणेश चतुर्थी च्या हार्दिक शुभेच्छा 🙏✨🌸#MumbaiMeriJaan #MumbaiIndians | @surya_14kumar | @ImHarmanpreet | @ImRo45 | @kerramelia01 | @hardikpandya7 pic.twitter.com/2fDYZQGIYw
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) September 7, 2024
Rohit and Ganpati’s connection
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma is a pure Mumbaikar inside out, having lived the most part of his life in the city and began his career in the city itself. Like other Mumbai locals, he too partakes in each festival specially the Ganeshotsav. He is known for his frequent visits to the famous Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai to offer his prayers and seek blessings from the Lord whenever he achieves something or heads for it.
He recently visited the temple with the then BCCI secretary Jay Shah with the T20 World Cup 2024 trophy and even shares glimpses of him along with his family, welcoming the Hindu deity on the day of his departure. A video recently went viral in which a few fans of Rohit recreated the iconic victory parade of Team India where a cut-out of Rohit was seen receiving the T20 World Cup trophy from Lord Ganesha’s idol atop a bus.
On the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi, Mumbai Indians shared a creative and unique post on their social media handles including Rohit Sharma in a “cricket-themed” Ganeshotsav. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
