Were you ever curious to know which is the largest cricket stadium in the world? The sport’s popularity continues to grow (especially with IPL), therefore it’s no surprise that there are so many cricket venues that are stretching their capacity to invite more Cricket Fans. For all the Cricket fans out there, BrainyWit brings to you a comprehensive list of the Top 10 Biggest Cricket Stadiums in the World.
Cricket is clearly one of the most popular sports in the world, and as a result, cricket stadiums must be large enough to accommodate the growing number of devoted followers and spectators who would travel great distances to see the game live.
Cricket grounds excite us, and now we’ll take a look at some of the massive cricket stadiums. Stadiums can be compared either in terms of their capacity or in terms of size.
It may amaze you that every stadium on this list is located in either India or Australia. Based on their maximum seating capacity, we’ve identified the top ten.
Let’s have a look at the List of Top 10 World’s Biggest Cricket Stadiums
| RANKING | STADIUM NAME | LOCATION |
| 1 | Narendra Modi Stadium | Ahmedabad, India |
| 2 | MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) | Melbourne, Australia |
| 3 | Eden Gardens | Kolkata, India |
| 4 | Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium | Raipur, India |
| 5 | Perth Cricket Stadium | Perth |
| 6 | Rajiv Gandhi international cricket stadium | Hyderabad, India |
| 7 | Greenfield International Stadium | Trivandrum, India |
| 8 | The Oval | Adelaide, Australia |
| 9 | M. A. Chidambaram Stadium | Chennai, India |
| 10 | JSCA International Cricket Stadium | Ranchi, Jharkhand |
Top 10 World’s Biggest Cricket Stadiums
1. Narendra Modi Stadium (Ahmedabad, India)
Narendra Modi Stadium was built in 1983 and revamped in 2006, is the world’s largest cricket stadium, with a monstrous capacity of 132,000 spectators.
President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated this renovated stadium On February 24, 2021, which was and earlier called the Motera cricket stadium in Ahmedabad. The stadium was previously known as the Sardar Patel Stadium.
It is owned by the Gujarat Cricket Association and is a top-notch venue for Test, ODI, and T20 cricket matches. The stadium is estimated to cost a mammoth ₹800 crore (US$100 million) with Shashi Prabhu being the architect and L&T taking over the construction.
It is one of the few stadiums with LED lights instead of traditional tower floodlights. The roof is made of a PTFE membrane that is designed to be lightweight and separate from the seating so that it can withstand earthquakes.
Furthermore, the megastructure does not require any columns, allowing fans to view the stadium from all angles. The lower levels of the stadium are utilized for smaller events, and it features a skywalk connection to the nearby metro station to ease traffic congestion.
Two first double centuries have been recorded here, with Indian star Sachin Tendulkar scoring his first in 1999 and South Africa’s AB de Villiers scoring his first in 2008.
Narendra Modi Stadium, even at half-capacity, is still larger than most cricket grounds across the world. Despite its enormous capacity, the stadium has yet to fill all of its seats for a cricket match.
The largest attendance at Narendra Modi Stadium was recorded at 66,000 during a T20 match between India and England on March 14th. However, the stadium witnessed a whooping attendance of 100,000 people attending the “Namaste Trump” event for Donald Trump’s inauguration visit as US president in 2020.
2. MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia)
The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) often known as “The “G” is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Victoria. Earlier MCG was the largest cricket stadium in the world. Now Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) comes 2nd in our list of the Top 10 biggest cricket stadiums.
The stadium is established and governed by The Melbourne Cricket Club and is the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, and the second-largest cricket ground globally with a maximum capacity of 100,024 people.
In 2005, the MCG was included in the “Victorian Heritage Register” and the “Australian National Heritage List”. It is “a shrine, a citadel, a landmark, a totem” that “symbolizes Melbourne to the globe,” according to journalist Greg Baum in 2003.
MCG also has the honor of hosting the memorable Boxing Day Test and also witnessed the first-ever Test Match and One Day International (ODI) between England and Australia. The stadium has been refurbished for approximately $600 million over the course of 15 years.
As a result of this development, the MCC now has borrowings of roughly $320 million, amounting to $32 million in principal and interest that must be paid each year.
The 2015 World Cup final between Australia and New Zealand pulled 93,013 spectators to the MCG for the first time.
3. Eden Gardens (Kolkata, India)
Eden Gardens known as ‘the Mecca of Indian cricket,’ was established in Kolkata in 1864 and it is third in our list of the top 10 biggest cricket stadiums in the world. It can accommodate around 68,000 spectators since its renovation after the 2011 World Cup.
However, this renovation also resulted in a surprising reduction in seating capacity from roughly 100,000 to around 68,000. The inaugural cricket match was conducted here between January 5 to January 8, 1934, and it was a Test match.
Eden Gardens is India’s oldest & second-largest cricket stadium and comes third in world’s biggest stadiums in the world. The stadium is famously known as a “batsman’s paradise” since it has the fastest outfield of any cricket ground in India.
It was originally titled ‘Auckland Circus Gardens,’ but its makers eventually altered it to ‘Eden Gardens‘ after being inspired by the Garden of Eden in the Bible. It’s also said that the Eden sisters of Lord Auckland, the then Governor-General of India, were honored, and the stands were named after notable Indian cricketers and soldiers.
One of the stands is named after the famous southpaw cricket Sourav Ganguly who is also known as “The Royal Bengal Tiger” and “Dada” amongst cricket fans. Sourav who is also from Kolkata once admitted in an interview that the roar of the crowd at the stadium after India beat Australia in the Second Test of the Border–Gavaskar Trophy in 2000–01 was the loudest he had ever heard.
The stadium has hosted some house-full matches before its renovation in 2011 and tells us that this is really one electrifying stadium to watch a good match of cricket. On the contrary, the stadium had the lowest ticket-buying crowd in its recorded history for the final three matches between Kenya and Zimbabwe), with only 15 people purchasing tickets.
Sachin Tendulkar became the second Indian batter and the fifth overall to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket against Pakistan on this ground in 2005.
Rohit Sharma has the highest ever ODI individual score of 264 on this ground, which he achieved against Sri Lanka in 2014.
Eden Garden surely is a stage for big cricketing achievements. Many Crickets have accepted in their interviews that they absolutely love playing a cricket match in the Mecca.
4. Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium (Raipur, India)
This cricket stadium in Chhattisgarh opened in 2008 and staged its maiden cricket match in 2010 between the Canadian national cricket team and the Chhattisgarh cricket team.
The stadium currently seating capacity of approx. 65,000. The stadium is named after Veer Narayan Singh Binjhwar, a Sonakhan landlord who led the Indian independence movement in Chhattisgarh in 1857. It is also the Delhi Daredevils’ second home ground in the Indian Premier League.
The Delhi Daredevils and the Pune Warriors played their first IPL match here on April 28, 2013. The Delhi Daredevils won the match by 15 runs over the Warriors.
Both the pacers and the spinners will benefit from the pitch. Overall, it’s a nice sporting pitch with plenty of opportunities for everyone ensuring a captivating match of cricket.
Sunny Gavaskar, Irfan Pathan, Kapil Dev, Ravi Shastri are among the many Indian cricket legends who have praised the stadium for its facilities. Viv Richards, the Caribbean legend was also astonished to see a cricket ground as good as Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium.
5. Perth Cricket Stadium in Perth
Perth cricket stadium in Perth, Western Australia (Burswood Area) is currently the fifth biggest ground that hosts international cricket matches. Perth Stadium is often known as Optus Stadium because Optus and the WA government agreed to a very lucrative 10-year naming rights deal. But what is Optus? Sounds like a secret services agency, right?
Optus is one of Australia’s leading telecommunications providers and serves more than 10 million consumers every day with mobile, telephony, internet, satellite, entertainment, and corporate network services.
The Perth Stadium has been through many stages of construction and renovations. The ultimate cost of the completed stadium was reported to be $1.6 billion in October 2017.
This amounted to an average expenditure of $1500 per home and $600 per individual in Western Australia. It is Australia’s second-largest stadium, with a capacity of over 60,000 people.
Perth is known for its fast and bouncy ground which allows for huge hitting and favors the faster bowlers.
The stadium hosts a variety of activities, including the Australian Football League (AFL), cricket, football, rugby union leagues, as well as significant concerts and entertainment events. Music icons like Eminem, U2, Taylor Swift have performed here. Queen + Adam Lambert performed at the Stadium on 23 February 2020 as part of their Bohemian Rhapsody Tour.
Guns N’ Roses and Ed Sheeran are booked to perform at the stadium on 18 November 2022 and 12 March 2023 respectively.
6. Rajiv Gandhi international cricket stadium (Hyderabad, India)
The Rajiv Gandhi international cricket stadium built in 2003 is located in Hyderabad and has a spectator capacity of 60,000. Between November 12 and 16, 2010 the stadium hosted its first Test match between India and New Zealand, and the first ODI (One Day International) was played between India v South Africa on 16 November 2005
It is also the home venue of the Hyderabad Cricket Association and the Sunrisers Hyderabad of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister (before the secession of Telangana) YS Rajasekhara decided to rename this stadium Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in honor of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
Pavilion End and North End are the names of the bowling ends but when VVS Laxman retired, the HCA (Hyderabad Cricket Association) chose to honor him by renaming the North End after him.
When Bangladesh toured India in 2017, they played their first test in India at this venue since gaining test status in 2000. Umesh Yadav & Ravichandran Ashwin bagged their 10-wicket test haul at this stadium.
A Fun Fact – It was said that the stadium was considered jinxed (according to Vastu Dosh or Hindu architectural design outlines) for the home team. Deccan Chargers lost all their matches in the 2008 IPL (Indian Premier League) due to faulty dressing room orientations.
The pitch begins to spin as the ball comes slowly to the bat. The surface is typically dry and firm, which aids low bounce and is beneficial to spin bowlers.
7. Greenfield International Stadium (Trivandrum, India)
Trivandrum’s Sports Hub, also known as Greenfield International, was completed in 2014 with a 55,000-seat capacity. It is India’s first DBOT-based stadium (design, build, operate and transfer) and was constructed on 36 acres of land leased for 15 years by Kerala University for 94 lakh (US$146,527.23) per year.
The stadium is built to host international cricket and football matches. It is India’s first totally eco-friendly stadium, with greenery all around and a rainwater harvesting system.
The 2015 SAFF championship was the stadium’s inaugural international football competition. India won the tournament with a 2–1 victory over Afghanistan.
A T20 match between New Zealand and India was the first cricket match held here. On November 7, 2017, the match took place. Due to weather, the game was reduced to 8 overs per side, and India won by 6 runs.
The Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) inked a leasing deal with Kariyavattom Sports Facilities Limited (KSFL) on May 27, 2016, to lease Greenfield Stadium until November 18, 2027. The KCA will have 180 days a year to use the stadium, according to the agreement.
8. The Oval (Adelaide, Australia)
Adelaide Oval is the parklands between the city center and North Adelaide and was built in 1871 with the founding of the South Australian Cricket Association. The stadium is mostly used for cricket and Australian football, but it has also hosted a rugby league, rugby union, soccer, and tennis, among other sports, as well as hosting concerts on a regular basis.
The first cricket match played at this stadium was a Test match between Australia and England in 1884. In 1975, the stadium hosted the first One-Day International between Australia and the West Indies.
In April of 2012, work on the renovation began. The new Eastern Stand was built in 2014, with a total capacity of 19,000 seats, boosting the stadium’s total seating capacity to approx. 50,000 for the 2014 AFL (Australian Football League) season. This renovation project topped $610 million.
The peculiar shape of the ovals favors batsmen who play square of the wicket, and bowlers who threw the ball short or wide allowed the batsman to play cut, hook, or pull strokes were strongly penalized.
Large outdoor concerts have been held at Adelaide Oval on a regular basis. Because of its high status, closeness to the CBD (central business district) and Adelaide Railway Station, and the lack of competition for big-scale venues in Adelaide, it is frequently chosen by foreign musicians wishing to conduct large performances.
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9. M. A. Chidambaram Stadium (Chennai, India)
The MA Chidambaram Stadium, originally known as the Madras Cricket Club Ground was built in 1916 and is located in Chepauk, Chennai. The stadium was named MA Chidambaram Stadium in honor of former BCCI and Tamil Nadu Cricket Association president MA Chidambaram and is commonly known as Chepauk.
It is the home stadium of the Tamil Nadu cricket team and the Chennai Super Kings of the Indian Premier League. The stadium has a seating capacity of 50,000.
The stadium was reconstructed in June 2009 for a total cost of 175 crores (US$23 million). It included the construction of three new reinforced concrete stands labeled I, J, and K, with a total capacity of 12,000 spectators and 24 hospitality boxes, all of which would be covered by translucent PTFE membrane roofing.
The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association hired Hopkins Architects in London and Nataraj & Venkat Architects in Chennai.
India won their first test match against England at Chepauk in 1952, in their 24th match. Virender Sehwag scored 319 against South Africa on this pitch in 2008, the highest individual score by an Indian in a Test at this venue.
The pitch is generally dry and hard, making it ideal for batting, but as the game progresses to the second innings of an ODI, it gradually becomes a slow wicket.
10. JSCA International Cricket Stadium (Ranchi, Jharkhand)
The Jharkhand States Cricket Association, formerly known as the JSCA International Venue Complex is located in Ranchi, Jharkhand, and was first opened in January of 2013.
This ground hosted its maiden international cricket match in 2013, a one-day encounter between India and England.
A conflict with Tata Steel prompted the JSCA to decide to build a new cricket stadium in Ranchi. The JSCA stated that they had not received any answer from Tata Steel after an international match between India and England was moved to Bangalore.
The JSCA decided that a new stadium was required as a result. M/s Ram Kripal Singh Construction Private Limited, Ranchi, Jharkhand, built the JSCA Stadium. Architectural consultants Kothari Associates Pvt. Ltd. of Delhi were handed the design commission.
Even on the shortest day of the year, no shadow falls on any of the nine pitches before 4.45 p.m. according to the stadium’s design. The stadium, which covers 35 acres (140,000 m2) and seats 40,000 people, was planned to be finished in February 2012 at a cost of $1.80 billion.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the former captain of the Indian cricket team, grew up in this venue.
Which is the largest cricket stadium in India?
With a capacity of 132,000 spectators, Narendra Modi Stadium (formerly Motera Stadium) in Ahmedabad is India’s and the world’s largest stadium.
Which cricket stadium is the most beautiful in the world?
It’s tough to pick one. In our Opinion, Dharamsala Cricket Stadium in India, Galle International Stadium in Sri Lanka, and Queenstown Cricket Stadium in Newzealand are some of the most beautiful and picturesque cricket grounds in the world.
Which is the biggest stadium in India for concerts?
Narendra Modi Stadium bags the first position. A whooping spectator capacity makes it a great place for electrifying concerts.
When and where did Rohit Sharma hit 264?
Rohit Sharma holds the world record for the highest ever ODI individual score of 264 which was made at the Eden Gardens Kolkata on November 13, 2014.
We hope you enjoyed this information about the world’s biggest cricket stadiums and came across some surprising facts you didn’t know.
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