With the 2025 Champions Trophy set to start in the Asian country on February 19, Pakistan will host an ICC event for the first time since 1996. Pakistan began renovating the Lahore, Karachi, and Rawalpindi stadiums—the Champions Trophy venues—ahead of the multi-team competition. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was supposed to turn over the venues by January 25th, but they didn’t.
Videos of the poorly built stadium were widely shared on social media as the criticism of the disorganised stadium renovation process grew, with just 19 days till the tournament’s opening.
The renovated Karachi Stadium opened on February 11th, while the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore was officially unveiled on February 7th.
PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi highlighted the criticism and responded, “We win, you lose,” on the eve of the venue’s debut in Karachi.
“You lose; we win. For those who said on social media that we were unable to finish building this stadium, this is for you. You would have won if we hadn’t finished this, and we wouldn’t have succeeded. But now that this [upgradation] project is over, we win and you lose. As cited by Geo News, Mohsin Naqvi stated, “I acknowledge that the stadium in Karachi would appear more attractive than the Gaddafi stadium in Lahore.”
At the National Stadium in Karachi, Pakistan will play New Zealand in the Champions Trophy first match on February 19. Notably, the Indian government declined to send the players due to security and geopolitical sensitivities, hence India will not be visiting Pakistan. India will participate in Dubai, which the ICC selected as the neutral venue for the tournament, which would be played in a hybrid format.
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