Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said that he wants India's batting mainstay Cheteshwar Pujara to score a double century in the third Test against England at the newly renamed Narendra Modi Stadium.
Shah also said that Ahmedabad in Gujarat would be known as the country's sports city with world-class facilities for all kinds of games being set up there.
"This stadium is very memorable for Javagal Srinath. He took six wickets against South Africa, on the same ground, Kapil Dev broke Richard's Hadlee tally of wickets. On this same ground, Sunil Gavaskar achieved the milestone of 10,000 runs.
On this same ground, Sachin Tendulkar achieved the 18,000 ODI runs and he completed his 20 years in international cricket here. I wish Pujara scores double century here and he helps India to win against England," said Shah.
The revamped stadium in Motera -- the world's largest cricket venue -- was inaugurated by President Ram Nath Kovind. The new structure can accommodate over 1 lakh spectators, surpassing the Melbourne Cricket Ground in terms of seating capacity.
"Such sports facilities are not available in a single city in India at present. Ahmedabad, which Modiji transformed into India's heritage city, is now ready to become the country's sports city...Ahmedabad will be considered as India's sports city," Shah said.
On the occasion, President Kovind also said that the sports enclave will give a new identity to Ahmedabad at the global level. In the third Test, the stadium will host a 55,000 capacity crowd, owing to COVID-19 restrictions. It also has 11 strips of six red and five black soils, along with four dressing rooms and an Olympic level swimming pool.
"I am sure that in the coming time, the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave will give a new identity to Ahmedabad in the world," said Kovind.
