A five-member delegation of the International Cricket Council is expected to arrive in Karachi tonight to inspect Pakistan’s preparations for the 2025 Champions Trophy. The four-day visit will conclude on September 21 after inspections in Lahore when the delegation inspects different stadia, practice facilities and hotels in key cities including Karachi, Islamabad, and Lahore. The question remains if Champions Trophy 2025 be played in Pakistan given various scenarios.
This body comprises senior ICC officials; it includes senior events manager, security manager, general manager of cricket, and production manager. The head of events of ICC, Chris Tetley, and the Security Manager, David Mucker, have visited Pakistan three times since April, but some members of this delegation are new due to recent changes in the ICC.
Stadia renovation takes time: Will ICC Champions Trophy 2025 be played in Pakistan?
Indeed, some of Pakistan’s major venues, including Karachi’s National Stadium, Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, and Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium, have been taking too much time to be revamped. The PCB is still very confident, though, that all renovations are going to be done in time and international standard level will be considered as satisfied. These renovations are targeted at the experiences of fans and players as well as the broadcasting teams.
The eight-team tournament, to be hosted from February 19 to March 9 next year, has been assigned a budget of $65 million by the ICC. Though likely to do so, India’s participation is yet to be confirmed, and there is some tussle over the hybrid model which may mean that the Indian matches would be hosted outside Pakistan. Already, contingency plans are there for hosting some of the games abroad if that happens.
As the ICC delegation goes about inspecting them, the PCB is eager for the betterment and rebranding of Pakistan’s venues to international standards and to stand Pakistan on the right footing in the cricketing world.
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