President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday inaugurated the newly renovated Biker Cricket Stadium in Ahmedabad, which has been renamed the Narendra Modi Stadium. Interior Minister Amit Shah and Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju, along with the Secretary of the Board of Control of Cricket India (BCCI), Jay Shah, were also present at the event. The Narendra Modi Stadium, the world’s largest cricket ground with a capacity for 1,10,000 people, will host its first international match on Wednesday, when India meets England in the day-night event. The stadium will be part of the planned Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave in the city.
“This stadium was conceptualized by Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he was the Prime Minister of Gujarat. At that time he was president of the Gujarat Cricket Association,” President Kovind said in his speech after the inauguration.
“This stadium is an example of ecological development,” he added.
“Along with Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave and Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera, a sports complex will also be built in Naranpura. These three will be equipped to host any international sporting event,” Interior Minister Amit Shah said at the event.
“Ahmedabad will be known as the ‘sports city’ of India,” he added.
“The Olympics can also be held here,” Amit Shah said of the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave.
“Not only for cricket, but it is a proud moment for India. Besides being the largest cricket stadium, it is also one of the most modern stadiums in the world,” Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju said previously.
“As children, we used to dream of the largest stadium in the world in India. And now, as Minister of Sports, my happiness knows no bounds that this has finally happened,” he had said.
The stadium held the knockout stages of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy earlier this year.
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The stadium is now set up to host seven international matches in quick succession.
Narendra Modi Stadium will host the third and fourth rounds between India and England, as well as the entirety of the five-match T20I series between the two teams.
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