Before its existence, Nehru Stadium of downtown Pune was the home ground of the Maharashtra Cricket team and venue for international matches organised by MCA.

[citation needed] The groundbreaking ceremony was performed on the construction site on 21 October 2007 by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sharad Pawar.

[11][19] Maharashtra Cricket Association intended to host matches of 2011 World Cup, due to construction delayed, it was not able to do that.

Often, matches are abandoned due to heavy downpour to overcome this problem, MCA opted for a sand-based outfield developed departmentally with technical assistance from STRI Limited, UK.

Due to this technology, even during heavy showers, water on the outfield drains out fast, making it ready for play again just in few minutes.Zeolite supplied by G M Chemicals are used for Turf management.

However, the name was changed back to the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium because Sahara paid only a part of the ₹ 200 crore that it had promised when acquiring the rights.

[23] Before official inauguration, the stadium hosted a Ranji trophy match between Himachal Pradesh- Maharashtra on 21 December 2011 and some practice games.

[citation needed] In 2015 IPL, Punjab Kings decided to move out of Mohali due to lukewarm spectator response at their primary home ground.

In 2018 IPL, due to members of some political parties protested outside the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, political parties of Chennai demanded the IPL matches to be moved out of the city until the Cauvery Management Board[clarification needed] was set up as directed by the honourable Supreme Court of India.

[11] In 2017, Indian TV network India Today exposed this stadium's official pitch curator Salgaonkar in a sting operation.

[31] In 2018 Bombay High court restricted Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) from using Pavana river water for the maintenance of this stadium's ground.

In December 2011 the MCA stadium hosted its first first class match, when Himachal Pradesh played against home team Maharashtra in the 2011-12 Ranji trophy.

[38] The entire edition of 2022 IPL was held in Maharashtra, and as a result the MCA stadium hosted a significant number of games of it.

[39] The 4th T20 International (T20I) match between India and England is scheduled for Friday, January 31, 2025, at 7:00 PM IST at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium in Pune.

[40] The Maharashtra cricket association stadium is scheduled to host 5 matches of 2023 ICC World Cup including India–Bangladesh on 19 October.

The city of Pune has hosted a game each in 1987 and 1996 World Cup between Sri Lanka–England and Kenya–West Indies respectively at the Swargate's Nehru stadium.