Rahul Gandhi made the statement on January 15, 2025, during the inauguration of the Congress Party's new headquarters at Kotla Road in Delhi.
While Sachin Tendulkar's 2013 farewell became a national pilgrimage, a vibrant celebration befitting a cricketing deity, the exits of many other Indian icons this century have been quieter journeys into the twilight.
It must be mentioned here that veteran bowler Ishant Sharma has already told DDCA that he won't play red-ball cricket anymore now that he is no longer in contention for a national comeback.
ICC's chief pitch consultant Andy Atkinson on Sunday inspected the Feroze Shah Kotla pitch, which was banned for one year from hosting international matches after the abandoned India-Sri Lanka game in Delhi last year.
This will be Virat Kohli's first Ranji Trophy match in 12 years.
Former India opener and DDCA's working president Chetan Chauhan said that Feroz Shah Kotla track will be a "good Test match wicket" when the hosts play South Africa in the fourth and final match in New Delhi.
The winner of an astounding 23 Olympic gold medals was in Delhi for promotional activity and dropped in for some time at the Kotla in the evening.
Former Indian cricketer Anshuman Gaekwad passed away on Wednesday at the age of 71
Endorsing his India team-mate Gautam Gambhir's view that the Ferozeshah Kotla pitch was not suitable for international matches, off-spinner Harbhajan Singh on Wednesday said practice games should have been held on the wicket before the One-dayer against Sri Lanka.
Gambhir, who played all his domestic cricket for Delhi and was also captain for a long time, rued the state of affairs in DDCA.
In what came as lease of life for disgraced Ferozshah Kotla, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said the world governing body was not in favour of banning the stadium for a longer period of time for the pitch fiasco during the recent India-Sri Lanka ODI.
The Feroz Shah Kotla pitch for the fourth and final Test between India and Australia has come under criticism from the former players, who have termed the track as a "three-day" wicket.
Virat Kohli began training with the Delhi team on Tuesday ahead of his eagerly-awaited Ranji Trophy comeback after a 12-year gap.
Sachin Tendulkar may have retired from cricket but he still rules the hearts of fans with chants of 'Sachin, Sachin' reverberating once again at the Feroz Shah Kotla as the chief mentor of Mumbai Indians side walked out before the start of the IPL game in New Delhi.
Delhi District Cricket Association vice-president Chetan Chauhan stunned the veteran curator Radhe Shyam Sharma on Wednesday by asking him to shave off whatever grass was there on the pitch for the first Test against Pakistan, beginning on Thursday.
Haryana seamer Anshul Kamboj is only the third bowler in the history of Ranji Trophy to take all 10 wickets in an innings.
Kings XI Punjab captain Adam Gilchrist criticised the Ferozeshah Kotla pitch for offering a lopsided contest between bat and ball, the ground having a very short boundary.
Royal Challengers Bangalore batsman Virat Kohli termed the Feroze Shah Kotla wicket as the best he has ever played on even as Delhi Daredevils captain Virender Sehwag declared that the track was not of his liking after the home team's three-wicket loss in an IPL match in New Delhi.
Andy Atkinson, the International Crcket Council's chief pitch consultant, expressed satisfaction with the progress of work at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai but remained mum on Delhi's Ferozshah Kotla ground.
The Indian National Congress, India's oldest political party, is moving from its longtime headquarters at 24 Akbar Road to a new building called Indira Gandhi Bhawan. The move marks the end of an era for the Congress, which has been headquartered at 24 Akbar Road for nearly 50 years.
Ravichandran Ashwin made most of helpful conditions and finished with wonderful figures of four for 40 as Australia struggled to 231 for eight after electing to bat in the fourth Test.
The Ferozeshah Kotla Stadium here, which will host four World Cup matches, has been turned into a virtual fortress with Delhi police personnel, gun-totting commandos and private security guards leaving nothing to chance ahead of Thursday's South Africa-West Indies clash.
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.
ICC's chief pitch consultant Andy Atkinson on Monday expressed satisfaction over the efforts being made to improve the Ferozeshah Kotla pitch, which was banned for one year from hosting international matches after the abandoned India-Sri Lanka game last year.
Former India opener and DDCA vice-president Chetan Chauhan made it clear that the state association will be preparing the tracks at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground "without any interference" from the Delhi Daredevils for its home matches in IPL-8.
Most of the Indian batters struggled while adjusting to the bounce which was a good feet and half more than what they are used to in India which is just above knee roll.
BCCI to make Delhi T20 venue decision on Monday
India scored a comprehensive five-wicket win in the first Test against the West Indies at the Ferozshah Kotla on Wednesday. The win gave the hosts a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Match referee Alan Hurst says the pitch for the fifth and final ODI between India and Sri Lanka did not meet the requirements for an ODI match.
Amit Shah digitally inaugurated the renamed Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium in presence of late finance minister's family.
The ICC rejected the BCCI's appeal to lift the one-year ban on Delhi's Ferozeshah Kotla ground, which was deemed 'unfit' after the recent India-Sri Lanka ODI was abandoned due to a dangerous pitch.
'Look, at the end of the day, it is the same pitch for both teams but if you would have asked me, would I have wanted to play Sunrisers on that type of pitch? I mean, there couldn't have been a different wicket where you would have wanted to play Sunrisers on'
South Africa's warm-up game for the Twenty20 leg of their India tour has been shifted from Feroz Shah Kotla to the Palam ground with DDCA expressing their inability to host the match.
The Delhi and Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) during an internal meeting on Friday formed 10 sub-committees that will work under Delhi high court-appointed observer Jutice Mukul Mudgal to ensure smooth conduct of the fourth and final Test between India and South Africa, to be played from December 3 to 7.
Sachin Tendulkar scored a 54-ball 90 in the benefit tie for former India international Gursharan Singh
The Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA) named Gate 2 of the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in New Delhi as the 'Virender Sehwag Gate'.
New Delhi's Feroz Shah Kotla ground is in danger of losing its World Twenty20 fixtures after the Indian cricket board (BCCI) moved a match against Sri Lanka away from the venue due to administrative lapses.
India host West Indies in the opener of their three-match series on Sunday with doubts over the Ferozeshah Kotla Stadium pitch, which will be hosting a Test for the first time since serving an international ban.
"Playing condition is fine here and so is the pitch. The outfield is as good as you find anywhere in the world," Shaharyar Khan said.
Even legendary Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar was confused about how the newly-laid Ferozeshah Kotla track, which he described as a 'hair transplant pitch', would behave during Sunday's fifth One-Day International, in Delhi, which was abandoned because of an unfit pitch. In his pitch report, Gavaskar had pointed out that it would be a tricky strip to bat on and said the batsmen would have to be watchful in the first half-hour.
