Pakistan Cricket Board chief laments ‘zameen asman ka faraq’ between their stadiums and world’s facilities

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi made lamented the standards of stadiums in Pakistan. When asked by a reporter during a media interaction the chief would go on to say none of the stadiums match the international standards in the country.

“If you had a look at the stadium across the world. Hamara Stadium aur duniya ke stadium ka zameen asman ka faraq hein. None of them could qualify as an international stadium,” Pakistan chief responded sternly.

There weren’t enough seats are bathrooms and the view made it seem like you were watching from 500 meters away,” he would say as a response to a question by a reporter about the necessity to upgrade the seating capacity and infrastructure in stadiums.

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Earlier PCB approved the upgradation of cricket stadiums in Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, National Stadium in Karachi and Rawalpindi International Cricket Stadium which are the three venues selected for hosting the Champions Trophy 2025 from February 19-March 9.

“The Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) team is working day and night. [We] will make our stadiums one of the best in the world providing basic facilities in stadiums is [our] first priority,” the PCB chief added.

According to the Geo News the board has allocated Rs 12.80 billion for the upgradation of the three venues. Recently PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi visited BDP Pattern’s London office.

Naqvi met chairman Chris Harding and other senior officials and gave a nod to the renovation of the stadiums after the interactions. The UK-based organisation has constructed around 200 international stadiums across the world.

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As a result of the upgrade, the PCB had to change the venue for the second Test between Pakistan and Bangladesh later this month from Karachi to Rawalpindi citing to noise pollution due to the construction work.

“We have been guided by the construction experts on the timelines for the readiness of the venue. They advised that while construction could continue during playing hours, the resulting noise pollution would disturb the cricketers,” the PCB stated on Sunday.

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