Mumbai, Sept 26 : It was a ceremony meant to facilitate Team India for winning the Twenty20 World Championship, but cricket virtually took a ‘back seat’ at the Wankhede Stadium here today, as no cricketer except skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was given a seat in the front row at the dais.

At the event, organised to celebrate a purely sporting achievement, the first row on the stage was dominated by politicians and officials of the Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI), even as the hoarding in the background ‘loudly’ said “Congratulations Team India.”

Besides BCCI president Sharad Pawar, the front row was occupied by Maharashtra Home Minister R R Patil, former board president IS Bindra, Vice Presidents Lalit Modi and Rajeev Shukla, and Secretary Niranjan Shah.

If this was not enough, a trophy given to the Men in Blue by the State Government had the map of Maharashtra, leaving many wondering what would have gone wrong had it been the Indian map instead.

Pawar presented cheque of Rs 80 lakh to each of the members of the victorious Twenty20 World Cup team, including the coaches and other staff.

After the felicitation ceremony, the team took a victory lap around the Wankhede ground.

Earlier in the morning, when the Men in Blue led by Dhoni arrived at the Sahar International Airport, thousands of cricket fans gathered to have glimpse of the players.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deskhmukh and his Deputy R R Patil were also present at the airport to welcome the team.

After getting a warm welcome at the airport, the world champions boarded two open-air buses.

The cavalcade took 30-km long route from the airport through Bandra junction, Mahim, Haji Ali, Peddar road to the Wankhede Stadium.

A massive traffic jam slacked down the victory parade through the streets of the city, as thousands of fans had assembled enroute the stadium braving heavy rains.

Fans were seen bursting crackers and showering flowers not only in the city, but also across the country from early morning.

Seeing the frenzy among the fans India Vice-Captain Yuvraj Singh started dancing as soon as he got to the top of the bus-- Vijay Rath. (With inputs from ANI)