Dinesh Karthik hopes Motera Stadium will be an IPL venue soon

Indian wicket-keeper and former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Dinesh Karthik hopes the new Motera Stadium at Ahmedabad will soon become an Indian Premier League (IPL) venue.

The Motera Stadium, officially known as Sardar Patel Stadium, is currently hosting knockout matches of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT). The newly-built venue will soon host its first set of international fixtures after reconstruction – two Tests and five T20Is against England in February and March.

On the eve of Tamil Nadu’s quarter-final against Himachal Pradesh, Dinesh Karthik tweeted:

Last year, before the pandemic, the packed stadium hosted former United States President Donald Trump for a political event.

With a seating capacity of over 1,10,000, the Motera Stadium has dislodged Australia’s Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) as the world’s largest cricket stadium.

Originally constructed in 1983, the stadium is best remembered for hosting the 2011 World Cup quarterfinal between India and Australia. The venue was closed in 2015, before being completely demolished and rebuilt with an estimated INR 800 crore.

Earlier, Kolkata’s Eden Gardens was the largest Indian stadium in terms of seating capacity.

Dinesh Karthik’s good run in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021

Karthik, 35, has had a good run as the Tamil Nadu skipper in SMAT 2021. With 133 runs in his kitty at a strike rate of over 170, he has been among the top contributors for Tamil Nadu, who finished on top of Group B.They were runners-up in the previous season, losing the final against arch-rivals Karnataka by one run. They will hope to go all the way this time around.