The Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi’s iconic stadium will be renamed after the late Arun Jaitley. There was a hint of clamor on social media after this decision but most saw the virtues of naming it after an individual who improved the condition of cricket in the capital by leaps and bounds. And this move is in line with most of the other stadiums in the country that have their names christened after an able administrator. But the question is why aren’t stadiums named after cricketers? Aren’t they the biggest benefactors in taking the game to the next level?
The one odd example of a cricket stadium being named after a cricketer is the Darren Sammy International Stadium at St. Lucia. Believe it or not, there isn’t a stadium named after Clive Lloyd or Viv Richards, but there is one after Darren Sammy who perhaps was not the sharpest tool in the West Indian shed. His pedestrian average in tests as well as ODIs is a testament to his eventual oblivion.
As brilliant as Brian Lara may have been, even he does not have a stadium named after him in the Caribbean. This perhaps has nothing to do with the caliber of the player on the field but solely boils down to his off the field equation with the board that perpetually seems to be in a sycophancy mode when it comes to pleasing certain players.
In India, fortunately, the equation has been different. Able administrators like I.S. Bindra, D.Y. Patil have had stadiums named after them while still being alive. The iconic Wankhede is another example of a state of the art stadium being named after a contributor off the field. His name and the history of the stadium will outlive most cricketers today.
So the argument that stadiums are not named after cricketers is not entirely potent but it does beget the question; how will proficient administrators and off field contributors of the game will be appreciated?
Cricketers get their dues and the fortune and fame offsets any complaints they may have about eventual anonymity, but the men behind the scenes barely get the credit they deserve. Arun Jaitley was one such person who worked as a lawyer for the most part of his life but also was proficient in matters of finance. He was also the finance minister with a huge portfolio in his years as union minister with the Vajpayee and Modi government. But behind the scenes he always promoted the game of cricket and worked tirelessly to improve its stature not only in Delhi but the entire country as well.
If at all the historic name of Kotla should change, it should be changed to a name that helped the cause of cricket and perpetuated its growth towards greener realms.
Vineet Malhotra is a Consulting Editor and Prime Time Anchor with News X.