In a bid to celebrate his achievement in International Cricket, the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA), on Sunday, decided to name one of the stands of the International Cricket Stadium, Feroz Shah Kotla, in New Delhi after Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli.
“Virat Kohli’s outstanding contribution to world cricket has done DDCA proud. We are happy to honour him for achieving certain milestones and for his unbeatable captaincy record,” DDCA President Rajat Sharma said in a statement.
“DDCA president @RajatSharmaLive and Apex Council decide to name one Stand of Ferozshah Kotla stadium as ‘Virat Kohli Stand’ in honour of his achievements,” tweeted DDCA.
Notably, Virat Kohli was born and raised in Delhi. He began his cricketing journey from Delhi too and even went on to play Ranji Trophy for Delhi. With the DDCA announcement coming in, Virat will become the youngest cricketer who will have the honour of one of the stands being named after him. Prior to him, Delhi cricketers Bishan Singh Bedi and Mohinder Amarnath have stands named after them at Kotla. However, both of them were named after they had retired from the sport.
The same was the case with Virender Sehwag and Anjum Chopra, two other cricketers from Delhi who have stands named after them. Interestingly, the Hall of Fame in the stadium is named after Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi Jr.
“I’m sure the ‘Virat Kohli Stand’ will be a source of inspiration for Delhi’s young cricketers. We are also delighted that Team India is not only led by a Delhi player, but it also has an opening batsman (Shikhar Dhawan), a wk (Rishabh Pant) and a lead fast bowler (Ishant Sharma). It’s a matter of pride for DDCA to felicitate the entire national cricket team and coach Ravi Shastri,” Sharma further said in the tweet.
The Indian team members will be felicitated by DDCA at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi on 12 September.