Kotla to have Virat Kohli stand soon: DDCA

India captain Virat Kohli will be the youngest active cricketer to be bestowed with the honour.

In recognition of Virat Kohli’s phenomenal success in international cricket, the DDCA has decided to name one stand at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium after the India captain.

After spin legend Bishan Singh Bedi and Mohinder Amarnath, Virat Kohli will become the third cricketer to have a stand named after him at the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium.

The Delhi and Districts Cricket Association organising committee’s decision on Sunday will make the India captain, who made his international debut on this very day in 2008, the youngest active cricketer to be bestowed the honour.

“Virat Kohli’s outstanding contribution to world cricket has done DDCA proud. We are happy to honour him for achieving certain milestones and unbeatable captaincy record. Ferozeshah Kotla would be equally proud because Virat played here as a teenager before joining the other legends in the Hall of Fame,” DDCA president Rajat Sharma said.

The formal naming will be done at a felicitation function for the Indian team on September 12, before India’s home series against South Africa. The function will be held at the Weightlifting auditorium, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, with Home Minister Amit Shah as chief guest and Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju as guest of honour.

“I am sure the Virat Kohli Stand will be a source of inspiration for Delhi’s young cricketers and there cannot be a better tribute to his achievements. We are also delighted that India is not only led by a Delhi player but also has an opening batsman (Shikhar Dhawan), a wicketkeeper (Rishabh Pant) and a lead bowler (Ishant Sharma) in its ranks. It’s a matter of pride for DDCA to felicitate the team and coach Ravi Shastri,” Sharma added.

The Bedi and Amarnath stands were inaugurated in November 2017 while the DDCA was under administrative control of Justice (retd) Vikramjit Sen, along with a gate named after former India women’s captain Anjum Chopra. Before that, the DDCA had named one of the bowling ends after Ashish Nehra for his farewell game alone.

Virender Sehwag was the first Delhi cricketer to be honoured thus with the DDCA naming a gate after him. Ferozeshah Kotla also has an MAK Pataudi Hall of Fame featuring all the top cricketers from Delhi to have played for India.

DDCA will also reward members of the Indian team and honour cricketers from the State who retired in the last five years.