Ahead of the pink-ball Test in Ahmedabad, the Motera’s Sardar Patel Cricket Stadium was renamed as the Narendra Modi Stadium on Wednesday. The world’s largest cricket arena was inaugurated by President Ram Nath Kovind, which is now hosting its first match between India and England.
Home Minister Amit Shah and Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju, along with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah, were also present at the event.
The stadium which was closed for renovation in 2015, was re-opened after the renovation work and now the seating capacity has been increased to a record 1,32,000. The arena has 11 pitches made of both red and black soil. Apparently, this is the only stadium in the world to have the same soil surfaces for the practice and main pitches.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that apart from Sardar Patel Sports Enclave and Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera, a sports complex will also be built-in Nanpura to host international events which will make Ahmedabad the ‘sports city’ of the country.