Champions Trophy 2025: PCB assures venue preparations for tournament to be 'on schedule'

The upcoming Champions Trophy is to be held in Pakistan and Dubai, where the former will be hosting their first ICC event after 1996. The ICC had visited the grounds in Karachi, Lahore, and Rawalpindi which led to speculations that the Pakistani venues might not be ready on time for the tournament, as per multiple reports in the media.

Despite these reports, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has assured that the grounds will be ready on time. It turns out that the stadiums in Pakistan are being upgraded, and the stadiums will be handed over to them at the end of the month where the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore is being renovated to accommodate 35,000 spectators and new hospitality areas have been built as well. PCB spokesperson Sami Ul Hasan made statement that the Champions Trophy are going on as per schedule.

“We are on schedule to complete the renovation and upgrade of the Gaddafi Stadium (in Lahore). The venue is expected to be handed over to us by the end of the month. We have no doubt about Gaddafi Stadium’s operational readiness to host the Champions Trophy match between Australia and England on Feb. 22," the PCB spokesperson said, as quoted by News18.

The ICC Champions Trophy will begin from the 19th of February where Pakistan will be facing off against New Zealand in the National Stadium at Karachi. Pakistan will go into the tournament as the defending champions, since they won the last edition after beating their arch-rivals India in 2017. England and Wales hosted the tournament.

Just before the tournament, there will be a tri-series that will be held on the eighth of February at the Multan Cricket Stadium. The three teams that will participate in the series will be Pakistan, New Zealand, and South Africa with the final to be played on the February 14, a week ahead of the marquee trophy's commencement.