The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 fixture has been released, taking place under a hybrid model format, owing to India not wishing to go to Pakistan for security reasons. The ICC has now decided to come up with this hybrid model whereby India and Pakistan will not host each other at any ICC events. All India matches will then be played in Dubai because of that for the next Champions Trophy.
The mega event of the eight nations kicks off from 18 February in Karachi, with the hosts Pakistan taking on New Zealand. But as a quick reminder, this is less than two months before commencement, and the venues in Pakistan have yet to be prepared. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has earmarked two centres, in Karachi and Lahore, to hold the Champions Trophy, parting with huge money from the ICC for readiness of the venues. The date of completion of the renovation works is fixed for 31 December, but several media haunts have already unmasked the preparedness of Pakistan.
One Karachi-based journalist posted a short video on X on 24 December, which other users may see compelling evidence that development is ongoing at the National Stadium. One new edifice is being established at the venue, which, according to the journalist, is meant to house VIP boxes. New grills are also envisaged around the stadium, but work on the project is going very slowly, suggesting that a lot of work remains to be done. Time, however, is running out.
The National Stadium has now confirmed that a few (if not all) Quaid-E-Azam Trophy matches will be held here, but they will not be televised as the broadcasters could not be accommodated due to ongoing construction work.
In total contrast to Karachi, Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore will have completely new stands, but the videos of the stadium raise many questions about how slowly preparations are moving for an ICC event. The work is really far from completion and certainly doesn’t seem to be finishing any time soon before 19th February.
‘Modern facilities’ rather promised PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi, but according to the videos on various social media, all one sees are mountains full of debris, incomplete stands, and dug-up fields.
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