The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) on Thursday
renamed Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium as Arun Jaitley Stadium in a ceremony held at
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. The name of
the stadium has been renamed after former Union Minister and President of DDCA
Arun Jaitley, who passed away last month at the age of 66. At the same event,
the famous Delhi cricket venue has been named after Indian cricket team captain
Virat Kohli.
Why is it
rechristened?
The renaming had been carried out to pay respect and honour
the leader of DDCA who served as a president from 1999 to 2003. A new pavilion
stand at the stadium has been dedicated to India skipper Virat Kohli in regards
to his impeccable performance and outstanding achievements.
During Jaitley’s presence, his tenure at DDCA is credited
with renovating the stadium into modern facilitations which increased the
capacity to incorporate more fans besides constructing world-class dressing rooms
for players.
While Virat Kohli is the youngest active cricketer to be
felicitated with such respect of a pavilion stand named after him, Bishan Singh
Bedi and Mohinder Nath are the other two Delhi players who have been bestowed
with a similar honour of stands after their names after retirement.
Who all
were honoured?
The glittering ceremony was held at the Weightlifting Hall of
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and a dance performance kicked off the start of the
event before DDCA President Rajat Sharma welcomed everyone showering valour on
the deserving ones. The occasion saw the Indian Team witnessing their captain
duly honoured and reverenced for his impeccable contribution on the field while
other the DDCA Annual Honours 2019 honoured promising cricketers with mementoes
for their performances.
Dhruv Shorey, Navdeep Saini, Jonty Sidhu and Tejas Baroka
were the top awardees of the DDCA Annual Honours this year.
Rajat Sharma delivered few words on how Former Miniter Arun Jaitley
framed Delhi Cricket in what it is today.
Other
Events
Rajat Sharma announced that DDCA has come to a conclusion of
starting two academies at Commonwealth Games Village and Pitampura for the poor
kids where they would be trained for free. He further revealed that former
Delhi stars would be pitching in the effort without charging fees from the
deprived children.
The rechristening of the stadium was carried out by Shah,
Rajat Sharma, Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju and Virat Kohli while an
audio-visual clip played in the background. Shah presented Jaitley family with
an honourable memento to regard the occasion. This was followed by the
unveiling of the new pavilion on the stage by Virat Kohli and others.
Virat
Kohli’s greetings
Referring to the occasion Kohli expressed how special the
occasion meant to him and how felicitous it was to rename the stadium on the
same evening. He thanked his family and childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma for his hard work and contributions.
"When I left home today, I told my family one anecdote.
I remember getting a ticket to watch a game in 2001 at the stadium and asking
for autographs from the players. So to have a pavilion in my name at the same
stadium today is surreal and a great honour," Kohli revealed.
Kapil Dev
Former
Indian Skipper Kapil Dev honoured Virat Kohli and said, “Wonderful to have a
stand in the name of Virat. And whatever DDCA does for Arun Jaitley is not
enough given his contribution."
Ajay Jadeja
Former Indian player gave huge reverence to Virat Kohli
saying it was a truly deserved gift for him. "Virat is a special player
and he deserves this kind of recognition. To be actively playing and getting a
stand in his name is a great feeling," he said.
Chetan Chauhan
Former DDCA Vice President and India opener spoke about his
seamless and long association with Jaitley and said, “Arun Jaitleyji was DDCA
President for 14 years and I was the Vice President. He was our friend, guide.
Whenever we needed direction, he would help us. The biggest help he did was to
rebuild the Kotla stadium. So it's befitting to name it in his honour."
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