Amit Shah unveils Arun Jaitley's statue at Feroz Shah Kotla Ground

Home Minister Amit Shah unveiled a six-feet tall statue of late Arun Jaitley at the iconic Feroz Shah Kotla Ground also known as Arun Jaitley Stadium on the occasion of Jaitley’s 68th birth anniversary on December 28, Monday. The statue was installed in the parking area near the Virender Sehwag Gate (Gate No. 1) of the stadium.

The ceremony was attended by a number of notable personalities including BCCI President and former India captain Sourav Ganguly, India opener Shikhar Dhawan, ex India opener Gautam Gambhir, who is also a BJP MP from Delhi, BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla and Union Minister Hardeep Puri.

The apex council of the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) had decided to install the statue of Arun Jaitley at the Kotla Ground in Delhi to honour Jaitley for his impeccable contribution to expanding the game of cricket in the city. He had served as the president of the DDCA for 14 years from 1999 to 2013, and now his son Rohan Jaitley is heading the body.

The statue, which weighs around 800 kg, has been designed by the father-son Suthar duo of Ram Sutar Art Creations Pvt Ltd and Ram Sutar Fine Arts Pvt Ltd that designed Sardar Patel’s Statue of Unity. Also, it is reported that it costs around INR 15 lakh while the veil that was used to cover the statue cost about INR 1.5 lakh.

Arun Jaitley was a cricketer’s person: Sourav Ganguly

Paying a tribute to his dear friend Arun Jaitley, Amit Shah recalled some fond memories of the former’s political journey. “Arun was like an elder brother to me. He was known for his sportsmanship spirit in the political circle. He remained aggressive in his speeches but never lowered the dignity of the Parliament,” Shah said as quoted by Times of India.

The former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly also hailed Arun Jaitley for always supporting young talent and backing players in their bad phase. Ganguly also hopes that Delhi will continue producing greats like Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Ishant Sharma, and many more.

“When we play and get 100, it gets recognition but lot of people work behind the scene and help the cricketers. He was a cricketer’s person. that is the role of an administrator,” he said.

“I remember a phone call (he) made during the 2003 World Cup in South Africa. We had lost the first game and the whole country went berserk but he (Jaitley) said that association supports you and you play well. These small things matter, he was a great human being.

This is a remarkably talented state which has produced so many players, Virat Kohli, Ishant Sharma, Rishabh Pant now and many in the past. A settled DDCA is good thing for Indian cricket and hopefully they can do it,” Sourav Ganguly concluded.