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A recent report had said if Pakistan is unable to complete the preparations of the stadiums, Champions Trophy 2025 might be completely shifted to Dubai.
Champions Trophy 2025 is set to be hosted by Pakistan and Dubai.
A delegation from the International Cricket Council (ICC) reached Pakistan on Thursday (January 9) to review preparations for the 2025 Champions Trophy, amid concerns that the host stadiums won’t be ready in time for the tournament.
According to Geo News, the six-member delegation comprised of officials, broadcasters and logistics personnel and ‘assessed the arrangements thoroughly’. They were welcomed by Usman Wahla, Director of International Cricket at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), who apprised the officials of the works going on at the National Stadium in Karachi.
The tournament will begin on February 19 and run till March 9, across three venues in Pakistan — Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi — with India’s games to be played in Dubai. Most stadiums have set the deadline for completing the work by the end of January.
On Wednesday, a Times of India report had quoted an unnamed source to say that the stadiums were ‘far from ready’ and that the PCB was racing against time to prevent the tournament from shifting completely to Dubai.
“It is a very disappointing picture. All three stadiums are far from ready and it’s not renovation or refurbishment, but proper construction which is underway. There is so much work left with seats, floodlights, facilities and even the outfield and playing surfaces,” said a source tracking developments.
“The weather is not ideal for construction and finishing work to happen at a rapid pace. At Gadaffi (the stadium in Lahore which will also host the final if India not qualify), even the plaster work isn’t completed yet. And most of the time is taken by finishing work because we are talking about dressing rooms etc. They just can’t be random rooms/enclosures for an ICC event. ICC has a checklist that needs to be met. National Stadium has decided to not completely finish the new enclosure because there is no time,” added the mentioned source.
Later in the day, a PCB official spoke to news agency IANS to deny the claims.
“All the work (related to stadiums) will be done by the first week of February. Pakistan will successfully host the Champions Trophy. No need to go by any rumours. We are committed to give our best. There are people who are trying to tarnish Pakistan’s image on social media. We know who all they are and why they are doing this,” the official said.
