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Naqvi has opted to witness the marquee game between India and Pakistan, slated to be played in the UAE, from the stands after having sold off as many as 30 VIP hospitality box seats offered to him for around 400,000 AED and redirected the funds…Read More
PCB president Mohsin Naqvi.
Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi will witness the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 game between India and Pakistan, slated to be played in the UAE, from the stands after having opted to experience the game alongside fans and has sold off as many as 30 VIP hospitality box seats offered to him for around 400,000 AED and redirected the funds to the PCB.
Pakistani media reports suggest that Naqvi was offered the seats for himself, his family and guests for games in Dubai, but the PCB chief has intimated the ICC and the UAE cricket board of his desire to watch the game from regular enclosures.
Naqvi mentioned that the PCB will cover the estimated expense of around 18 billion rupees in order to upgrade the Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi stadiums using the funds generated from the gate money of the first ICC event on Pakistani soil in nearly thirty years.
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The highly-anticipated marquee event will begin on the 19th of February in Karachi as hosts Pakistan take on New Zealand.
The tournament, originally to be held in Pakistan throughout, will be held in a hybrid format after the BCCI refused to send the Indian cricket team across the border to their neighbouring nation citing security risks. Hence, UAE was onboarded as the alternate venue for fixtures involving the men in blue.
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Team India will begin their campaign on the 20th as they take on Bangladesh at the Dubai International Stadium in their opener.
The electrifying headline game between India and Pakistan will also be hosted at the stadium in Dubai on the 23rd of February and is expected to be a crowd-puller much like the fixture has served to be historically.
