LAHORE: Dawn has learned that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) decided to host the Champions Trophy next year despite not being required by the International Cricket Council to renovate and build parts of three stadiums in Lahore, Karachi, and Rawalpindi.
Only seven months before the Champions Trophy, which is set to take place in February and March of 2025, is held at each of the three stadiums, construction and renovation projects costing billions of dollars had already started.
The media and sports community initially believed that the stadiums were being built in compliance with the directives of the international governing body of the sport.
Dawn was informed, however, by a PCB official, that the ICC delegation had inspected Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, National Stadium in Karachi, and Pindi Stadium in Rawalpindi, and had determined that all three venues were suitable to hold the eight-team tournament’s matches.
The ICC group visited Pakistani facilities and verified that all stadiums were fit for hosting matches, but we still need to modernize our stadiums to meet international standards, the spokesman stated on Thursday.
It should be emphasized that Gaddafi Stadium had new pavilions built last year, despite the fact that the stadium’s traditional entrance was still present and in good condition overall.
On the other hand, the majority of Gaddafi Stadium’s structure had already been removed in order to be rebuilt, and in the coming days, work at National Stadium will also commence.
In a same vein, Pindi Stadium construction is about to get underway. These three initiatives are expected to cost between three and four billion rupees. Under PCB chairman Najam Sethi’s leadership, the National Stadium received a billion rupee renovation in 2016–17.
Additionally, the general public believes that Mohsin Naqvi, the current chairman of the PCB, enjoys doing building work whether it is required or not. Even though Mohsin’s only responsibility as Punjab’s caretaker chief minister was to make sure the general elections went off without a hitch, he started a lot of construction projects at police stations, hospitals, underpasses, and the Lahore Zoo.
The National Cricket Academy is now home to the offices of all PCB executives. In addition, the PCB is under pressure to complete the three stadiums’ new construction within the deadline set by a UK-based corporation.
Pakistani enterprises will carry out the building in compliance with the blueprint furnished by this offshore firm. One major problem is finishing everything before the Champions Trophy begins.
England (in October) and Bangladesh (in August) are also expected to visit Pakistan during this time to play Test series against the national squad.
