Rawalpindi, Lahore and Karachi to host ICC Champions Trophy 2025; PCB to not make any amendments for India

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has shortlisted cricket stadiums Rawalpindi, Lahore and Karachi for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. The PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi accompanied the ICC security team for an inspection of the three venues and has also zeroed in on a provisional schedule.

The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 will be held in February and March 2025. The previous edition of the Champions Trophy was held in England in 2017. Pakistan beat India by 180 runs to win their first Champions Trophy title.

The PCB has been steadfast in insisting that it will not accommodate any special requests like hosting the tournament in a hybrid model or shifting the venues to accommodate the Indian cricket team. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been on a stand to not send the Indian team to Pakistan to play any matches and also indulge in any bilateral series.

PCB chairman Naqvi termed the meeting with the ICC security team as ‘good’ and said his board is leaving no stone unturned to host a good tournament. “We’ve sent the schedule for the matches in Pakistan for the Champions Trophy. The ICC’s security team came and we had a very good meeting. They looked at arrangements here and we’ll also share stadium upgrade plans with them. We are trying to ensure we host a very good tournament in Pakistan,” Naqvi said at a press conference in Lahore.

Speaking about the upgradation plans of the three venues before the marquee ICC event, the PCB chairman said viewing experience will be improved and they have sought bids from international companies for the makeover. He admitted that the board is late in trying for a makeover but said his team will ensure that everything is in place before the tournament. “If you look at Gaddafi (Stadium in Lahore), it is good but the viewing experience is not great for cricket. Maybe good for football, but not cricket. We need to improve facilities in the stadiums, where there are some old problems. Karachi is in bad shape. So on May 7th, we will finalise bids from international companies who will come and help us design. We are already late but we need to do these upgrades in four or five months. It will be a very tough test but we can do it,” Naqvi concluded.