State-of-the-art stadium left 'abandoned' for 18 years finally set to be completed after £25m plan

A cricket stadium in India described as 'state-of-the-art' has been effectively left abandoned for 18 years since it last hosted an international match - but is finally nearing completion.

India is the world's biggest cricketing nation, and its flagship T20 franchise tournament, the Indian Premier League, is worth a staggering $18.5 billion.

It's biggest stadium, the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, can host up to 132,000 people.

That will soon be rivalled by Kolkata's Eden Gardens, India's oldest and most historic stadium, with plans to expand it from a capacity of 66,000 to 100,000.

Cricket has long been popular in India but surged further into prominence after the nation surprisingly won the 1983 World Cup, led by star all-rounder Kapil Dev.

The likes of Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli have all since been idolised by India supporters, and the nation's cricket board, the BCCI, is now unquestionably the sport's main superpower.

As a result of cricket's rise in popularity in India over recent decades, a number of stadiums formerly used to host international matches are now no longer considered by the BCCI.

One of those is the Nahar Singh Stadium in Faridabad, Delhi.

The 25,000-capacity stadium hosted eight men's international matches involving India between 1988 and 2006, as well as two women's matches.

It's final international match was a men's One Day International against England in March 2006, which India won by four wickets.

In 2007, it was deemed that the ground was not suitable to host future international matches, and it has not been used since.

The stadium was effectively ignored internationally until 2019, when renovation plans were established to ensure it would be fit to host cricket once again.

But the project has been beset by issues, with Tribune India reporting that it had cost Rs 74 crore (around £6.2 million) by 2022, when work was halted due to payment problems and a dispute over the building of a new pavilion.

Then, in February 2024, the plans were handed over to the local development authority, who assessed that the project needed to be supported by additional state government funds.

As well as restoring the pitch and outfield, the local authority decided to plan for the 'creation of additional infrastructure and facilities for various sports activities' and a seating capacity expansion.

All that means the latest budget request to the state government stood at a staggering Rs 292 crore (£24.8 million).

On-site work was expected to begin in January of this year, with the local Haryana state authority inviting tenders for the project.

And in a significant new update earlier this month, work appears to be nearing its conclusion.

Twitter account Nalanda Index shared three new photos of the renovation work, showing the stadium in a far better state than it was previously.

The outfield has been relayed, and work is continuing on rebuilding the perimeter of the stadium.

ESPNcricinfo's Nakul Sharma noted that some domestic matches are still played at the stadium, but the local state, Haryana, plays its Ranji Trophy matches elsewhere.

Given the amount of world-class stadiums in use by the BCCI, the Nahar Singh Stadium will have plenty of competition when it comes to hosting international matches in the future - but it appears that it will be a sight to behold when renovation work is finally completed.