The Sourav Ganguly-led BCCI is planning to bring all the top contemporary cricketers in the world at one place during an exhibition match between Asia XI vs World XI at the new Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad in March next year.
The new stadium is built at a cost of Rs 700 crores and it is set to become the biggest cricket stadium in the world with a capacity of 1.10 lakh spectators, more than the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). The local authorities are expecting the venue to be ready by March 2020. Hence, as a part of its grand opening, the idea of that match has been proposed.
However, it will be subject to ICC’s approval,” Ganguly told to The Indian Express following BCCI‘s annual general body meeting in Mumbai on Sunday. The format of the game is yet to be decided but according to people who are close to this development, it will be a T20 international fixture as the Bangladesh Cricket Board is also hosting a couple of T20Is between Asia XI vs World XI on the same month in Dhaka.
The new stadium has been constructed razing down the old structure at Motera which had a capacity of 54,000. Build across 64 acres, the stadium consists of two academy grounds along with the main turf. It also has indoor practice facilities, training centres and 55-room clubhouse, Olympic size swimming pool and other sports recreational activities, including a 3-D projector theatre,
Jay Shah, the son of union home minister Amit Shah and the current secretary of the BCCI has looked after this project since its starting days. According to him, the stadium is a brainchild of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who first thought about building such a grand cricket centre in Ahmedabad during his tenure as the head of Gujarat Cricket Association.