Entire ICC Champions Trophy 2025 To Be Shifted Out Of Pakistan If...

Entire ICC Champions Trophy 2025 To Be Shifted Out Of Pakistan If... (Photo: TheRealPCBMedia/X)

The future of the ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan looks to be uncertain. With little over a month left for the marquee event, renovation and construction work at the three venues are far from complete.

The Champions Trophy is scheduled to kick off on February 19 with host Pakistan taking on New Zealand in the opening game. Apart from India's matches, the entire tournament is poised to be hosted by Pakistan with the final scheduled for March 9 at Lahore 's Gaddafi Stadium .

Work at the stadiums started in August last year and was supposed to be completed by December 2024. But things are not looking ideal leaving ICC in the spot of a bother. The ICC has reportedly expressed its concern over the delay in the stadium work and a team will visit Pakistan to assess the situation towards the end of this week.

Not just only renovation, but an ample amount of new construction work is in progress including the installation of floodlights and new enclosures and building of new player facilities.

As per the Times of India, discussions have taken place over a possible shifting of the entire Champions Trophy in Dubai. A source told TOI, "The weather is not ideal for construction and finishing work to happen at a rapid pace. At Gadaffi, even the plaster work isn't completed yet. And most of the time is taken by finishing work because we are talking about dressing rooms etc. They just can't be random rooms/enclosures for an ICC event. ICC has a checklist which needs to be met. National Stadium has decided to not completely finish the new enclosure because there is no time.”

Videos posted on social media highlighted the amount of work left to be done at the Gaddafi Stadium which is scheduled to host a semifinal and the final, if India don't make it to the summit clash

The Source further added to TOI, "It's a no-brainer on what would happen if PCB misses deadlines and venues don't meet ICC checklist. Tournament can't be played at semi-ready venues. The next week will give more clarity on the future but PCB and ICC together need to pull off a miracle."

The Pakistan Cricket Board has now provided a latest status update on the stadium work. A PCB statement read, "The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) today announced that preparations for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 were in full swing, with the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore and National Bank Stadium in Karachi nearing completion to host tournament matches.

"In a regular update, the PCB assured the fans, spectators and media that all upgradation work was progressing on schedule and will be completed before or around the set deadlines.

"Given the advanced stage of preparations at Gaddafi Stadium and National Bank Stadium, the PCB has decided to relocate the upcoming tri-nation ODI series to these two venues."

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