NEW DELHI: Legendary Sachin Tendulkar, two-time World Cup winning captain MS Shoni, current India captain Rohit Sharma and chess grandmaster Viswanathan Anand are among a wide array of sporting personalities who have been invited for the consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya next week.
Former India captains Virat Kohli, Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble also feature on the list of cricketers who have been invited for the event.
The 500+ state guest list for the ceremony features a mix of politicians, actors, sports stars and industrialists.
Weightlifter Karnam Malleswari, footballer Kalyan Chaube, long-distance runner Kavita Raut Tungar and paralympic javelin thrower Devendra Jhanjadia have also received invitations as have women cricket captain Mitali Raj, shuttlers Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu and her trainer Pullela Gopichand.
Besides Sachin, World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev, ‘little master’ Sunil Gavaskar, Virendra Sehwag, Ravindra Jadeja and current head coach Rahul Dravid are also on the list.
Alongside chess great Anand, sprint queen PT Usha and footballer Bhaichung Bhutia have also been invited.
It is however not clear how many of them will actually attend the opening of the 161-feet-tall pink sandstone shrine.
(With inputs from PTI)