The Stadium is now called Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated 'Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium' in Lucknow on Tuesday. Earlier called the "Ekana International Cricket Stadium", it has been renamed to honour former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Mr Adityanath announced.

The stadium, with a seating capacity of around 50,000, is all set to host the second T20I of the ongoing three-match series between India and West Indies.

While inaugurating the Stadium, Mr Adityanath said, "We plan to promote not just cricket, but all sports across the country. Our Prime Minister has a grand vision for sports in India. We aim to set up large playgrounds in all villages across the country."

"We are even constructing a big stadium in Ghaziabad, and soon, that too will have a grand opening," the Chief Minister added.

The stadium has been named after Mr Vajpayee as the former prime minister was a Member of Parliament from Lucknow for five consecutive terms between 1991 and 2009.

The stadium was built during the previous tenure of the Samajwadi Party government under the watch of then Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav.



(With Inputs From ANI)