Hyderabad: The ICC Champions Trophy is just a month away and there is a high buzz amongst cricket fans for the marquee tournament. After a lot of discussion over the hosting of India matches, it was finally decided by the International Cricket Council (ICC) that Men in Blue will play their fixtures in UAE. Now, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) might face a blow as they face the threat of losing hosting rights due to the messy conditions of the stadiums in the country which are going to host the Champions Trophy matches.
According to a report by the Times of India, construction and upgrade work are underway at all three stadiums—the National Stadium in Karachi, Gadaffi Stadium in Lahore, and the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. The PCB is supposed to hand over the venues to the ICC by February 12. The construction work was supposed to be finished by December 31 last year, but there is still a lot of work to be done around it.
Condition of Pakistan cricket stadiums:
— Johns (@JohnyBravo183) January 8, 2025
Less than a month left for Champions Trophy and nothing's even 50% ready.
AFG, AUS, SA & ENG will play their matches here, so good luck to their fans, players and journalists. pic.twitter.com/p6ZynuAajI
The report further mentions that ICC is currently worried as it doesn’t want to face the backlash once more after the infrastructural mess during the USA leg of the T20 World Cup last year was on display. A team of ICC will inspect the preparation on the venues for the Champions Trophy fixtures.
“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," a source told TOI.
In the venues situated in Lahore and Karachi, dressing rooms and hospitality boxes are yet to enter the finishing stages. Also, the fencing work and the placement of floodlights and seats is yet to be done. As there is not much time left before the commencement of the competition, there are discussions about moving the whole tournament to UAE.
PCB provides stadia upgradation update
— PCB Media (@TheRealPCBMedia) January 8, 2025
Details here ⤵️ https://t.co/ghZVrJhjLV
However, PCB has released an official statement saying that the preparations for the tournament are in full swing and the renovation at all the three venues is nearing the completion.
