The Andhra Pradesh government would allot 21 acres of land for the construction of a cricket stadium of international standards in the state capital. Announcing the decision on Monday at a function to felicitate star batsman VVS Laxman in Hyderabad, state home minister Deveder Goud said the government would allot the land at Bandallagudem on the city outskirts to the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) within one week.

"We will hand over this land to you in one week and we expect you to complete the stadium in two years time", he said in response to a request made by HCA officials for a piece of land for a new stadium, as the Lal Bahadur Stadium was not upto international standards.

Earlier, Laxman was presented a cheque of Rs one lakh and silver plate by Goud for his performance in the recently concluded series against Australia. Laxman was also handed over a cheque of Rs 29,000 given by the Tamil Nadu government for his performance in the Chennai Test. Speaking at the function, Laxman thanked all the officials, coaches groundsmen and fans for the encouragement given to him over the years.

Former cricketers Mohd Azharuddin, Arshad Ayub and Venkatapathy Raju were among those who attended the function.

© PTI