President Ram Nath Kovind and Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurate world's largest cricket stadium at Motera
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Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BCCI secretary Jay Shah and Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju were also present at the ceremony.
Indian President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the world's largest cricket stadium at Motera, Ahmedabad on Wednesday after performing ‘bhumi pujan’ ahead of the pink ball Test between India and England.
ALSO SEE: From signed bats to historic photos: Inside the 'Hall of Fame' zone of Motera Cricket Stadium
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BCCI secretary Jay Shah and Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju were also present at the ceremony.
BCCI President Sourav Ganguly was not able to be a part of the inauguration ceremony due to his recent angioplasty. However, Ganguly took to Twitter and said: “Will miss being at the stadium today ..what an effort it must have been to create this ..pink test was our dream and it's going be the 2nd one in india”.
Will miss being at the stadium today ..what an effort it must have been to create this ..pink test was our dream and it's going be the 2nd one in india.hope to see full stands like last time. Under the leadership of Honble Prime minister @narendramodi Amit Shah @AmitShah .. pic.twitter.com/za7vdYHTN0
— Sourav Ganguly (@SGanguly99) February 24, 2021
The Motera stadium has shattered the record books to register itself as the world’s largest cricket stadium with a seating capacity of a whopping 1,10,000 – 10,000 more than the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia.
The world’s largest cricket stadium boasts 11 centre strips, which itself is unique along with four dressing rooms that are connected to the in-built gymnasium. "This is the only stadium in the world with 11 centre pitches on the main ground. Also, we are the only stadium in the world with the same soil being used for practice as well as centre strips," GCA joint secretary Patel said.
The Sardar Patel Stadium also has a state-of-the-art drainage system to help the ground dry up quickly in case of heavy rain. It is being claimed that even in the case of 8cm rainfall during a match, there are bleak chances of the match being cancelled out.
With 50 per cent crowd capacity allowed for the third and fourth Test between India and England, the Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad will host as many as 55,000 spectators for the much-awaited day-night Test between India and England.