Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of a new international cricket stadium in Varanasi on Saturday (September 23). For the ceremony, cricketing legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, Ravi Shastri, Sunil Gavaskar and Dilip Vengsarkar among others were present alongside PM Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. One of the highlights of the event was India's batting great Bharat Ratna Sachin Tendulkar gifting an Indian cricket team jersey to PM Modi with 'NAMO' written on its back. The video of the same has gone viral on social media.
Take a look:
"PM Modi is laying the foundation stone for International Cricket Stadium Varanasi by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in Uttar Pradesh for the first time. I welcome PM Modi on behalf of every sports enthusiast in the state," said CM Adityanath on the occasion.
"In Varanasi, a stadium is under construction with the help of the Smart City Mission of the Central Government. This is the third International stadium of Uttar Pradesh and the first to be constructed under the supervision of BCCI. It will provide a platform to the cricket enthusiasts of east Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. I would like to thank BCCI and PM Modi for giving this gift to UP," he added.
Notably, the Varanasi Cricket Stadium, when completed, will be the third international cricket stadium in the state of Uttar Pradesh. At present, the state has two stadiums- Kanpur's iconic Green Park and Lucknow's newly constructed Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium the latter of which is even set to host five World Cup matches including the India vs England fixture on October 29.