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Pakistan Cricket Board official reportedly said that there is ‘no need to go by any rumours, all stadium work will be done by Feb first week’.
Construction work in Rawalpindi, Karachi and Lahore are yet to be completed ahead of the Champions Trophy 2025. (Image: Screengrab/X)
The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is scheduled to get underway on February 19 with the final on March 9 and will see eight teams in 15 contests. Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium and Karachi’s National Bank Stadium are to host the matches in Pakistan, with India playing their Champions Trophy matches in Dubai.
Amid reports claiming the possibility of the 2025 Champions Trophy being shifted out of Pakistan entirely due to delay in renovation work at the stadiums, a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)official said preparations are in full swing and all the work related to the stadiums will be done by the first week of February.
With the renovation work at the venues, which started in August last year and was supposed to be completed by December 31, yet to be completed, several reports emerged that the ICC will send a team to Pakistan to inspect the three stadiums. If the venues are not ready for handover on February 12, the entire tournament will be shifted to the UAE.
“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 PCB official was quoted as saying to IANS.
The capacity of Gaddafi Stadium has been increased to 35,000 with two giant digital replay screens also scheduled to be installed by next week. New player and hospitality enclosures have been built, which the PCB says will be operational by Jan. 25.
At Karachi’s National Bank Stadium, new player and officials’ hospitality enclosures have been constructed, as well as 5,000 new seats.
Work at the Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi, the third venue for the Champions Trophy, has included installing 10,000 new seats. The PCB said more than “250 workers (are) labouring day and night to meet the Jan. 25 deadline” for renovation work.
“The PCB is confident that the upgrades will elevate the fan experience and uphold Pakistan’s reputation as a premier cricketing destination,” the PCB said in a statement according to the Associated Press.
However, the PCB on Wednesday moved the ODI tri-series, also involving South Africa and New Zealand, from Multan to Karachi and Lahore, saying the move was due to the advanced stage of preparations at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium and Karachi’s National Stadium, which will host six of the 12 Champions Trophy group stage matches.
Pakistan is preparing to host an ICC tournament for the first time since 1996, when it co-hosted the ODI World Cup.
(With inputs from Agencies)
