'We win, you lose' - Mohsin Naqvi reacts to criticism over delayed renovation of Champions Trophy venues

Pakistan will be hosting an ICC event for the first time since 1996, with the 2025 Champions Trophy scheduled to commence from February 19 in the Asian nation. Ahead of the multi-team event, Pakistan started the renovation process of the Champions Trophy venues, Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi stadiums. The deadline by ICC to hand over the venues was January 25 but the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had failed to deliver. 

With the criticism mounting over the unorganised process in the stadium revamping, social media was flooded with the videos of under-constructed stadium with not much time left for the tournament opener February 19.

As it stands, the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore was unveiled on February 7, whereas the revamped Karachi Stadium was opened on February 11. On the eve of the unveiling Karachi venue, PCB Chairman, Mohsin Naqvi cited the criticism and replied ‘We win, you lose’. 

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"We win, you lose. This is for those who claimed on social media that we could not complete the construction of this stadium. If we failed to complete this, you would have won, and we were unsuccessful. However, by completing this [upgradation] project, we won, and you lose now. I admit here that Karachi stadium would look more good than Lahore's Gaddafi stadium," Naqvi said as quoted from Geo News

The first game of Champions Trophy is slated to be played on February 19 as Pakistan will take on New Zealand at the National Stadium in Karachi. It is worth noting that India will not travel to Pakistan as the Indian government refused to send the players over geopolitical tensions and security concerns. The tournament will be played in a hybrid format, with India set to play their games in Dubai, which was chosen as the neutral venue by ICC.