General · EdgepediaSeptember 17, 20266 min read

Narendra Modi Stadium (નરેન્દ્ર મોદી)

Narendra Modi Stadium (નરેન્દ્ર મોદી) is a cricket stadium in the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Complex at Motera, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, and with a seating capacity of 132,000 it is the largest cricket stadium in the world.¹ Formerly known as the Motera Stadium, and earlier as the Sardar Patel Stadium, it is owned and operated by the Gujarat Cricket Association and stages Test, ODI, T20I, first-class, List A, T20 and Indian Premier League cricket.¹^•²

Key fact	Detail
Location	Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Complex, Motera, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on the banks of the Sabarmati river¹^•²
Capacity	132,000 seats, the largest cricket stadium in the world; Guinness World Records listed 110,000 seats when it opened¹^•³
Built	Constructed in 1983 (the GCA dates the original to 1982) with 49,000 seats; first renovated in 2006; demolished in 2015 and rebuilt by February 2020¹^•⁴
Rebuild cost	Estimated ₹8 billion (₹800 crore; about US$100 million)¹
Renaming	Renamed on 24 February 2021 after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, GCA president 2009–2014 and Gujarat chief minister 2001–2014¹
Match record	As of 2022: 14 Tests, 27 ODIs, 6 T20Is and 2 IPL matches¹
Field size	180 yards × 150 yards, spread across 63 acres with 4 entry points⁴
Ends	Adani Pavilion End, Jio End⁵

Original ground and redevelopment

The stadium was built in the early 1980s to develop cricketing talent in Gujarat, opening with a seating capacity of 49,000.⁴ The ICC dates the original construction to 1983 with a first renovation in 2006, while the Gujarat Cricket Association dates construction to 1982.¹^•⁴ It hosted matches during the 1987, 1996, and 2011 Cricket World Cups, including India's 2011 quarterfinal win over Australia.¹^•⁴

Reconstruction. In October 2015 the Gujarat Cricket Association, under its then president Narendra Modi, decided to rebuild the stadium as the largest cricket stadium in the world.⁴ The ground was closed and demolished in 2015 and completely rebuilt by February 2020 at an estimated cost of ₹8 billion (₹800 crore; US$100 million).¹ The new stadium surpassed the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which accommodates 90,000 spectators, to become the largest cricket ground.⁴ Before the renovation, Eden Gardens in Kolkata had held the title of India's largest venue at 68,000.⁵

The first major public event in the completed stadium was "Namaste Trump" on 24 February 2020, held during US President Donald Trump's visit to India.⁶

Name and inauguration

On 24 February 2021 the Gujarat Cricket Association renamed the ground the Narendra Modi Stadium, after the Prime Minister of India, a Gujarat native who had been GCA president from 2009 to 2014 and the state's chief minister from 2001 to 2014.¹ President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the stadium the same day and laid the foundation stone of the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave, calling the 1.32-lakh capacity a matter of pride.⁷ The ICC describes the renaming as recognition of Modi's vision, as former GCA president, to build a facility able to hold more than one lakh fans.²

The same day the stadium hosted its first pink-ball Test, between India and England, played before a reduced-capacity crowd under Covid-19 restrictions.¹^•⁸

Facilities

The rebuilt stadium spreads across 63 acres with four entry points and a field of 180 yards by 150 yards.⁴ Its facilities include four team dressing rooms, six indoor practice pitches and three outdoor practice fields, an indoor cricket academy with a dormitory for 40 athletes, 76 corporate boxes of 25 seats each, an Olympic-level swimming pool, food courts and a GCA clubhouse.⁴^•⁹ The venue has floodlights and is the home ground of the Gujarat Titans in the IPL.⁵^•²

Cricketing history at the ground

The venue has been the setting for several milestones. In March 1987 Sunil Gavaskar became the first batter to pass 10,000 runs in Test cricket there, in a series against Pakistan.⁵^•⁴ In February 1994 Kapil Dev took his 432nd Test wicket at the ground, passing Sir Richard Hadlee's record as Test cricket's leading wicket-taker.⁴ In 2013 Sachin Tendulkar became the first batter to score 30,000 runs in international cricket at the stadium.⁴

Record crowds. The IPL 2022 final between Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals at the stadium drew 101,566 spectators, which organizers announced as a record attendance for a cricket match and which set a Guinness world record.¹⁰^•¹¹ The stadium also hosted the IPL 2023 final.¹²

The 2023 World Cup final

The stadium hosted the final of the 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup on 19 November 2023, between hosts India and Australia.¹ Australia won by six wickets to claim a record sixth title.¹⁴

The match became the most watched ICC match ever, with over 300 million (30 crore) viewers on television according to broadcaster Disney Star, and cricket's highest concurrent digital audience on Disney+ Hotstar.¹⁵^•¹⁶ Earlier in the tournament the ground had hosted the opener between England and New Zealand, with about 47,000 fans, and the India–Pakistan fixture on 14 October, played before a crowd of more than 100,000.¹⁷^•¹⁸

Recent and scheduled events

The stadium is scheduled to host the final of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in 2026, placing it in the rare position of staging the showpiece matches of both of cricket's major global tournaments within the same decade.² In March 2026 it hosted the T20 World Cup final in which India beat New Zealand by 96 runs before more than 86,000 fans, a record third title for India.¹⁹ Ahmedabad's bid to host the 2036 Summer Olympics plans an Olympic park around the stadium, and the surrounding Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave is slated to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games.²⁰^•²¹

References

Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Cricket › Cricket practice and culture › Major international cricket grounds

Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026

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