On September 20, cricket will make a glorious return to Mohali’s IS Bindra PCA International Stadium. The Punjab Cricket Association is adding to the excitement by allowing fans to watch the action up close and personal from stands that have been renamed after two local legends of the game: Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh.
On September 20, the first of three T20I matches between India and Australia will take place at the PCA International Stadium.
PCA Stadium ends named changed
The Punjab Cricket Association changed the name of its renowned Terrace Block to Harbhajan Singh, a former Indian spinner who is currently a Rajya Sabha member for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Harbhajan Singh represented India in 103 Test matches, 236 ODI matches, and 28 T20I matches, taking a total of 711 wickets across all three formats.
Yuvraj Singh, an Indian cricketer who played in 40 Tests, 304 ODIs, and 58 T20Is and amassed 11,778 runs and 148 wickets in all three formats, has also had the North Pavilion of the stadium named in his honor.
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“In a historic decision, the PCA executive committee, led by president Gulzar Inder Chahal, chose to honour the renowned Indian cricketers Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh by renaming the Terrace Block and North Pavillion stands, respectively. Fans and players would be motivated when they see the stands being named after these two cricketers, according to PCA secretary Dilsher Khanna, who spoke to The Indian Express. Both have been symbols for Punjab and Indian cricket.
The international stadium in Mohali, named for former PCA and BCCI official IS Bindra, was built in 1994. Up to this point, the stadium has played host to a total of 14 Test matches, 25 ODI matches, and 5 T20 matches.
Khanna stated that the PCA is likely to set criteria and welcome proposals from other states on changing their stands. The decision to name more stands of the stadium after other former cricketers of the state may be made in the future, according to Khanna.
Interestingly, PCA overlooked the name of Lala Amarnath, a pillar of the Indian Test teams in the pre- and post-independence era who was from Kapurthala, when naming the new International stadium at Mullanpur, which is currently under construction. Lala Amarnath was a former Indian Test cricketer and former ruler of Patiala.
