The 110,000-seater stadium was the pet project of Modi who
was chief minister in Gujarat state, where Ahmedabad is the main city, before
taking over as head of government in 2014.
The new name was announced by President Ramnath Kovind
during a ceremony ahead of the third Test between India and England.
"This stadium was the dream of the prime minister and
he had during his stint as chief minister here floated the idea of building the
world’s largest stadium," Home Minister Amit Shah said at the event.
The $100-million, perfectly round venue, with seats in the
blue and saffron of the Indian team, promises unobstructed views from every
angle.
It eclipses the 100,000-seat Melbourne Cricket Ground in
Australia, which dates back to 1853.
The former Motera stadium was inaugurated as the Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel Cricket Stadium by Modi in February 2020 when he hosted a
mega-rally there with then US president Donald Trump.
Patel, an independence leader, is immortalised by the
world's biggest statue, the enormous Statue of Unity completed in 2018
measuring 182 metres (597 feet) -- twice the size of the Statue of Liberty --
which has struggled to attract visitors.
President Kovind said the stadium will be just one part of a
huge Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave that will house amenities for 33
Olympic sports.
Although cricket enjoys massive popularity in the country of
1.3 billion, India already has more than a dozen stadiums capable of holding
international matches.
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