Empty and unused: the world's biggest cricket stadium opened by Donald Trump just a few weeks ago

Coronavirus has stopped play at the Sadar Patel Stadium in India

Hundreds of dead fish float on stagnant water along the Sabarmati river behind Sardar Patel Stadium, the world's biggest cricket venue, that now stands emptu and unused in Ahmedabad. AFP

US President Donald Trump and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi filled the Sardar Patel Stadium in February. AFP

The Sardar Patel Stadium on the outskirts of Ahmedabad was full in February when opened by US President Donald Trump. AFP

The Sardar Patel Stadium, the world's biggest cricket stadium, lies empty and unused. AFP

The newly constructed Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium. EPA

An interior view of the Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera, on the outskirts of Ahmedabad. AFP

Police personnel gather in the campus of Sardar Patel Stadium, in Motera. AFP

A member of a bomb disposal squad from Gujarat Police uses a sniffer dog to scan the stands at Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium. Reuters

Workers construct a stage at Sardar Patel stadium before the visit of US President Donald Trump in Ahmadabad. AP Photo

An interior view of the Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera. AFP

Indian policemen walk at Sardar Patel stadium ahead of the visit of US President Donald Trump. AP Photo

The Sardar Patel Stadium is pictured in Motera, on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, on February 21, 2020. AFP

Police patrol outside the Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium where US President Donald Trump will deliver his speech. EPA

A US military helicopter flies over the Sardar Patel Gujarat stadium on February 22, 2020. Reuters

Police patrol outside the Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium where US President Trump will deliver his speech during an upcoming state visit to India. EPA

The newly constructed Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium, ahead of an upcoming state visit to India, in Ahmedabad. EPA

There is no larger symbol of the global sports shutdown than cricket's 110,000-seater Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad, opened by US President Donald Trump but yet to see a ball bowled.

India's newest and the world's biggest cricket stadium lies empty because of the coronavirus pandemic. Instead of the sound of leather on willow and the roar of the crowd, there is only silence.

Only a few weeks ago, it had been packed to capacity as Mr Trump and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi stood side-by-side in a show of pomp and ceremony for the February 24 inauguration.

Eclipsing Australia's 100,000-capacity Melbourne Cricket Ground, it was rumoured to be in line to host the final of this year's Indian Premier League, the world's richest Twenty20 tournament and watched by millions worldwide.

But then came Covid-19. The pandemic has brought the sporting world to a grinding halt with massive events including the Tokyo Olympics, football's European Championships, golf and tennis majors and the glitzy IPL postponed.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has pushed back the IPL from its original start date of March 29 to April 15, but with the number of coronavirus cases in India exceeding 5,000 and still rising, pressure is growing for it to be shifted again, truncated or scrapped.

The $100-million (Dh367m) circular venue promises unobstructed views and has state-of-the-art facilities including an Olympic-sized swimming pool as part of a multisports complex.

Next door, a refurbished venue on the site of the former 49,000-capacity Motera Stadium will serve as a venue for cricket, football and hockey.

Critics have charged that it is another "white elephant" vanity project in Mr Modi's home state, following the completion of the world's largest statue there in 2018 - also dedicated to independence hero Sardar Patel.

Mr Modi was Gujarat chief minister for 13 years until 2014, and revamping the former Motera stadium had been long a pet project.

Home Minister Amit Shah, a close ally, headed the Gujarat Cricket Association till last year and his son Jay Shah is the secretary of the BCCI, the world's richest and most powerful cricket board.

Despite cricket being wildly popular in India, domestic first class matches - and even some international Test matches - are often played to near-empty stadiums.

The only matches guaranteed to attract big crowds are IPL games and one-day internationals - and even then it depends on the quality of the opposition.

The nation of 1.3 billion people already has more than a dozen stadiums capable of hosting international cricket, although in the off-season they can be used for other events.

Meanwhile, the new stadium awaits the arrival of sport.