Feroz Shah Kotla to be renamed as Arun Jaitley Stadium

New Delhi: The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) on Tuesday decided to rechristen Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium as Arun Jaitley Stadium in the memory of its former president who passed away on Saturday.

Former Union Finance Minister Jaitley, who passed away on August 24, was president of the DDCA from 1999 to
2013.

The renaming will take place on September 12 at a function, to be held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, where a stand at the Kotla will be named after India captain Virat Kohli as announced earlier.

Home Minister Amit Shah and Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju will grace the occasion, DDCA officials said.

News Alert: Kotla to be renamed as Arun Jaitley Stadium.
The renaming of Delhi's famous cricket venue as Arun Jaitley Stadium will take place on September 12 at a function where a Stand of the ground will be named after India captain Virat Kohli.

— DDCA (@delhi_cricket) August 27, 2019

Speaking on this initiative, DDCA president Rajat Sharma said: “It was Arun Jaitley’s support and encouragement that players like Virat Kohli, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Ashish Nehra, Rishabh Pant and many others could make India proud.”

Later, the DDCA president said that the stadium has been named as Arun Jaitley Stadium; the ground will, however, continue to be called the Feroz Shah Kotla.

A clarification from the DDCA president: The stadium has been named as Arun Jaitley Stadium. The ground will continue to be called the Feroz Shah Kotla.

— DDCA (@delhi_cricket) August 27, 2019

Jaitley, during his tenure at DDCA, is credited with renovating the stadium into a modern facility, increasing its capacity to accommodate more fans besides constructing world class dressing rooms.

The Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, the second-oldest cricket stadium in India after Kolkata’s Eden Gardens, was established in 1883. The stadium’s capacity is currently at over 40,000.

The iconic stadium in the national capital has played host to 34 Test matches, 25 ODIs and 5 T20Is. Besides, it also hosts matches for the Delhi cricket team as well as the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Delhi Capitals.

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