Named after Feroz Shah Tughlaq of the Tughlaq dynasty from the 14th century, the stadium stands tall on Delhi's bustling Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg. Constructed in 1356, the Feroz Shah Kotla hosted its first cricket match in 1948 when India played West Indies in a high-scoring draw.

Since then, the Kotla - as it is popularly known - has played host to 30 Test matches. India has won ten of these games, and lost six, but have not lost a single Test match at the venue since 1987. Apart from that, the Feroz Shah Kotla has also hosted 14 ODIs, most of which have been very high-scoring.

The Kotla is also famous for being witness to only the second instance of a Test cricketer picking up all ten wickets in a single innings. Bowling against Pakistan in 1999, Anil Kumble emulated the record of Jim Laker from England, as he ran through the opposition to claim all the wickets and win the game for India. One of the most important ODI games played here was the final of the tri-series between India, Australia and Zimbabwe, in which the Aussies beat the hosts easily after having lost all their league games to India. The ground underwent renovation in 2005, just in time to host the sixth and the final game of the ODI series against Pakistan.

The Kotla has also played host to two World Cup games. In the 1987 World Cup, India easily beat Australia, but in the 1996 edition of the tournament, Sanath Jayasuriya's blitzkrieg at the top ensured an easy win for Sri Lanka over India.

The Kotla is now the home venue for the Delhi Daredevils side in the Indian Premier League, having hosted all its games in the capital during the 2008 edition of the tournament. The Daredevils will play all its games at the Kotla in the 2010 edition of the Indian Premier League as well. It has also played host to eight games during the Champions League Twenty20 in 2009. The pitch was re-laid before the tournament began and proved to be a difficult proposition for the batsmen.