Varanasi

Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar and veteran cricketers Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri are likely to participate in the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the international cricket stadium by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Ganjari here on September 23.

The stadium’s structure will reflect the heritage of Kashi.

A senior government official said cricketers Sachin Tendulkar, Ravi Shastri,  Sunil Gavaskar and hockey player Lalit Upadhyay had been invited to the ceremony.

After the foundation laying ceremony, the sportspersons will offer prayers at Kashi Vishwanath Temple.

BCCI president Roger Binny, secretary Jay Shah and vice-president Rajeev Shukla will also attend the ceremony.

Regional sports officer, Varanasi, R.P. Singh said the international cricket stadium will be built on 12.809 hectares of land in the Ganjari area of Varanasi.

The land has already been acquired for Rs 121.8 crore. The stadium will have a seating capacity of 30,000 people. It will take over two and a half years to complete it.

Singh said that under supervision of Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association, L&T construction agency had already started pre-construction activities like soil testing. In the first phase, parking and a practice pitch would be built along with the stadium.

According to a senior official, the entire project is worth about Rs 450 crore.