It has been around a week before the deadline of the International Cricket Council (ICC) ends for the renovation of the three stadiums in Pakistan for the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025, scheduled to kick off on February 19. The sources revealed that the issue isn’t alarming at present despite the renovation work continuing for the last six months.
The three popular grounds of Pakistan, the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Karachi’s National Stadium, and the Rawalpindi Stadium went for renovation work. The original deadline to complete the work was December 31, before being pushed to January 25. The current reports have claimed that the Gaddafi Stadium would be prepared by February 01, while for the other two grounds, things have looked brighter.
Work in Rawalpindi is already finished, while the finished touches are being put at the National Stadium. Lahore is the biggest concern. According to the reports, the work has been going at a rapid pace. However, there is a serious concern over the timeline of February 01 as some of the reports have addressed that the PCB would hand over the ground to the ICC only after the two matches of the upcoming tri-series against New Zealand and South Africa, which starts on February 08. The Lahore-led will end two days later.
Pakistan’s former wicketkeeper is not concerned with the stadium’s delayed renovation work
There isn’t much concern for the Indian side in that aspect, who will feature in all of their games at the Dubai International Stadium. The BCCI wrote to the ICC and forwarded it to the PCB to inform them the decision of not to send their side to the other side of the border due to security concerns.
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The former wicket-keeper of the Green Brigade, Rashid Latif, in a conversation with Revsportz, explained that the Lahore’s construction will be completed by February 01. The delayed process has been taking place due to them rebuilding the stadium from scratch.
“Don’t worry, it would be done. Pindi and Karachi are already done. According to them (PCB), the work in Lahore will be completed by February 1. They are rebuilding the Gaddafi Stadium from scratch. That’s why it’s taking so much time.” Latif expressed in the interaction.
People started working day and night at Pakistan’s Gaddafi Stadium. But the biggest issue for them has been the weather—the dense fog, to be precise. New chairs have already been installed in the stadium, but it’s not finished.
The PCB has spent nearly 12 billion Pakistani rupees to renovate the three stadiums, but it’s yet to come up with a proper explanation for the delay. There was a fear among the ICC of moving the entire tournament to the Dubai International Cricket Stadium of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). However, due to the late announcement of the final schedule of the title, the ICC chose to cut Pakistan some respite, which has been hosting a global event for the very first time since 1996.
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The tickets sold for the event will be available on January 28, while the tickets for the Dubai leg are yet to go on sale. For the game in Pakistan, the prices have been kept around 3.59 USD to 5.38 ISD. The tournament is slated to begin on February 19 between the home side and the Blackcaps. The very first game of the Dubai leg between India and Bangladesh will take place on the following day.
The Champions Trophy final will be played on March 9, and tickets will be available only four days before the match.