Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium

Arun Jaitley Stadium

Arun Jaitley stadium, New Delhi
Former names	Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium
Public transit	Delhi Gate
Owner	Delhi & District Cricket Association
Operator	Delhi & District Cricket Association
Capacity	35,200[1]
Surface	Grass (Oval)
Construction
Opened	1883 (141 years ago) (1883)
Renovated	2023
Construction cost	₹114.5 crore
Ground information
Location	Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, Delhi
Coordinates	28°38′16″N 77°14′35″E / 28.63778°N 77.24306°E / 28.63778; 77.24306
Establishment	1882
Owner	Utpal Kant
Tenants	India national cricket team Delhi cricket team Delhi Capitals
End names
Stadium End Pavilion End
International information
First Test	10–14 November 1948:  India v  West Indies
Last Test	17–19 February 2023:  India v  Australia
First ODI	15 September 1982:  India v  Sri Lanka
Last ODI	6 November 2023:  Sri Lanka v  Bangladesh
First T20I	23 March 2016:  Afghanistan v  England
Last T20I	9 June 2022:  India v  South Africa
First women's Test	12–14 November 1976:  India v  West Indies
Last women's Test	21–24 January 1984:  India v  Australia
First WODI	19 February 1985:  India v  New Zealand
Last WODI	9 December 1997:  India v  Sri Lanka
First WT20I	15 March 2016:  New Zealand v  Sri Lanka
Last WT20I	30 March 2016:  New Zealand v  England
As of 7 October 2023 Source: ESPNcricinfo

The Arun Jaitley Stadium is a cricket stadium owned and operated by the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) and located on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi.^[2][3] It was established in 1883 as the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, and named after the nearby Kotla fort. It is the second oldest functional international cricket stadium in India, after the Eden Gardens of Kolkata. As of 25 October 2019, it has hosted 36 Tests, 29 ODIs and 6 T20I.

In a 2017 felicitation ceremony, the DDCA named four stands of the stadium after former India captain Bishan Singh Bedi, former India all-rounder Mohinder Amarnath, former India and Delhi opener Gautam Gambhir. The home team's dressing room was named after Raman Lamba and the away dressing room after Prakash Bhandari.^[4]

On 12 September 2019, the stadium was renamed in memory of former DDCA President and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, after his death on 24 August 2019. DDCA president Rajat Sharma said: "It was Arun Jaitley's support and encouragement that players like Virat Kohli, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Ashish Nehra, Rishabh Pant and many others could make India proud."^[5] Arun Jaitley has also been credited with turning the stadium into a modern facility, increasing its seating capacity and building better facilities for players during his tenure as DDCA president. The stadium was officially renamed at a function that took place on 12 September 2019. One of the stands of the stadium was named after former Indian captain Virat Kohli on the same date. The name change has been criticised by former Indian captain Bishan Singh Bedi.^[6] After announcing the name change, DDCA clarified that only the stadium had been renamed and that the ground would be still called the Feroz Shah Kotla Ground.

As of 2024, the India national cricket team had been undefeated for over 37 years in Test matches.^[7] India's 11-year unbeaten run in ODIs was brought to an end during New Zealand's tour of India in 2016-17 where New Zealand defeated India by 6 runs.^[8]