The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) on Tuesday decided to rechristen the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium as Arun Jaitley Stadium in the memory of its former president who passed away on Saturday.

The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) on Tuesday decided to rechristen the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium as Arun Jaitley Stadium in the memory of its former president who passed away on Saturday.

The renaming will take place on September 12 at a function where a stand at the Kotla will be named after India captain Virat Kohli as announced earlier.

The ground will continue to be known as the Feroz Shah Kotla, as it is only the stadium that has been renamed by the DDCA.

News Alert: Kotla to be renamed as Arun Jaitley Stadium. In a fitting tribute to its former president Arun Jaitley, @delhi_cricket has decided to name the Stadium after him. Mr Jaitley, who passed away on August 24, was president of the DDCA from 1999 to 2013. @BCCI — DDCA (@delhi_cricket) August 27, 2019

Speaking on this initiative, 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."

Jaitley, during his tenure at DDCA, is credited with renovating the stadium into a modern facility, increasing its capacity to accommodate more fans besides constructing world class dressing rooms.

The function, to be held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, will be graced by the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah and Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju.

The Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium is the second-oldest cricket stadium in India after Kolkata's Eden Gardens and was established in 1883. The stadium's capacity is currently at over 40,000.

It has played host to 34 Test matches, 25 ODIs and 5 T20Is. Besides that, it also hosts matches for the Delhi cricket team as well as the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Delhi Capitals.