The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) on Thursday gave rich tribute to former finance minister Arun Jaitley, who died on August 24.
The ceremony took place at the Weightlifting Hall of the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, where the iconic Feroz Shah Kotla stadium was also renamed after Arun Jaitley, who has served as the president of the DDCA.
During the event, DDCA also unveiled a new pavilion stand at the stadium after Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli.
DDCA president Rajat Sharma was present at the event to felicitate Virat Kohli. The event was also attended by Home Minister Amit Shah along with former Indian cricket captain Kapil Dev.
"We want to make it a riveting event where we pay the best tributes possible to keep Jaitley ji's memory alive. Anybody who is even remotely connected with cricket knows his contributions have helped a lot of Delhi cricket and its cricketers. Naming the stadium after him will serve the cause and purpose," DDCA president Rajat Sharma said.
"While we pay rich tributes to the departed soul of Jaitley ji, we also want to recognise the services that our own player Virat, has done to bring laurels to Indian as well as Delhi cricket. Several of his achievements are mindboggling," he added.
Updates from the ceremony:
19.35 IST: Men's Under 19 batsman: Vaibhav Dhanpaal
19.34 IST: Men's junior batsman of the year award goes to Jonty Sindhu
19.34 IST: Men's senior bowler of the year award: Navdeep Saini
19.33 IST: Men's senior batsman of the year award goes to Dhruv Shoree
19.24 IST: Home Minister Amit Shah presents a special memento to Indian cricket team players.
19.22 IST: Virat Kohli: "I am a bit nervous seeing so many important people. I was not expecting such a grand stage to honour me. Thank You Rajat Sir and my team who is present here. All the former players of Delhi, Kapil Dev Sir, I thank you a lot. It's weird to talk about this but I just want to thank the people who are present here - my wife and family.
I know Arun Jaitley as a special person as he motivated me when my father died. He came to my house and motivated me.
19.16 IST: DDCA officially unveils a new pavilion stand after Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli.
19.02 IST: A special video tribute is being played on big screen for Arun Jaitley.
19.00 IST: An all-weather pitch will be laid at Arun Jaitley Stadium.
18.56 IST: DDCA President Rajat Sharma also announces various measures to benefit former Delhi cricketers.
18.55 IST: DDCA President Rajat Sharma officially announces that Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium will now be known as Arun Jaitley Stadium.
18.53 IST: DDCA President Rajat Sharma announces two new cricket academies that will provide coaching to budding cricketers.
18.52 IST: Rajat Sharma talks about how Arun Jaitley helped in grooming Delhi cricketers.
18.49 IST: DDCA President Rajat Sharma arrives on stage.
18.46 IST: Host Manish Paul takes the center stage.
18.42 IST: A special video is being played on the background to pay rich tribute to Delhi cricketers.
18.37 IST: The ceremony kicks off with a musical feast. Band of drummers perform acrobatic moves to enthral the audience.
18.34 IST: The show is about to begin.
18.30 IST: Home Minister Amit Shah and Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju also arrive at the ceremony.
18.28 IST: Virat Kohli greets Arun Jaitley's family.
18.27 IST: Indian cricket team players and team management also come to the event.
18.26 IST: Indian skipper Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma arrive at the ceremony.
18.10 IST: India's 1983 World Cup captain Kapil Dev also opens up on Kohli and Arun Jaitley: "Wonderful to have a stand-in name of Virat. And whatever DDCA does for Arun Jaitley is not enough given his contribution."
18.00 IST: Former Indian cricketer Ajay Jadeja heaps praise on Indian skipper Virat Kohli: "Virat is a special player and he deserves this kind of a recognition. To be actively playing and getting a stand in his name is a great feeling."
17.55 IST: Former sports minister Rajyavardhan Rathore: Both Virat and Arun Jaitleyji are inspirational figures in Delhi and Indian cricket. Naming the stadium and the stand is a step in right direction.
