ICC Champions Trophy 2025: ICC Faces Concerns Over Unfinished Stadium Renovations Ahead of Champions Trophy 2025

The fixtures for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 have been released, but the Pakistan Cricket Board has not yet completed renovations at three stadiums in Pakistan where the tournament will be held. With the event approaching, there is growing concern over the limited left to finish the required work.

Renovation work at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore and National Stadium in Karachi is running out of time. Reports say that ICC has set a decline of February 12th for the Pakistan Cricket Board to finish the upgrades. However, there has been little progress and the situation remains concerning.

An ICC official expressed disappointment over the PCB not finishing the renovations for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. He mentioned that three stadiums are still far from being ready and highlighted the unfinished work that needs to be completed before the tournament can take place. He said:

It is a very disappointing picture. All three stadiums are far from ready, and it’s not renovation or refurbishment, but proper construction, which is underway. There is so much work left with seats, floodlights, facilities, and even the outfield and playing surfaces. 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 that needs to be met. National Stadium has decided to not completely finish the new enclosure because there is no time.

Renovations were supposed to be completed by December 31st, but the PCB is far from finishing the work. This delay has caused concern within the ICC, especially after receiving criticism over venue infrastructure during the ICC T20 World Cup 2024.