Indian President Ram Nath Kovind will be formally inaugurating the newly-built Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad before the start of the pink-ball Test between India and England on Wednesday. The president is currently on a two-day visit to Gujarat.
Notably, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will also be present as the guest of honour on the occasion.
Earlier, the iconic venue was inaugurated by the then USA President, Donald Trump in 2019.
The stadium with a capacity of 1,32,000 seats, has a total of 76 corporate boxes, an Olympic-level swimming pool, an indoor academy, four dressing rooms for athletes, and food courts. Spread over 63 acres, Motera stadium is considered to be the largest cricket ground in the world.
Due to the COVID-19 guidelines of the government, only 50 percent crowd will be allowed at the venue during the third Test against Joe Root-led side.
Impressed with the infrastructure of the stadium, England skipper, Root said, “It is a phenomenal stadium. I am sure you are going to see some brilliant cricket over the years at this ground. It looks fantastic, hopefully, the wicket can produce some very good cricket. I am sure the atmosphere within the stadium will be electric. It is also great to see fans back in the previous game.”
“I am sure with the capacity of this ground that noise will go up and you want to be a part of big games,” the 30-year-old batsman further added during the pre-match press conference on Tuesday.