New Delhi: With just 20 days to go before the top 8 teams in the world start the battle for the ICC Champions Trophy, worrying clouds are looming over Pakistan cricket. With pictures and videos of under-construction stadiums dominating the internet, The Pakistan Cricket Board has come under immense pressure to complete the renovation and construction of the venues in time and the lack of preparedness has reportedly cost Geoff Allardice his job as the world cricket body CEO.
The venues in Karachi and Rawalpindi, in particular, still look far from getting ready for the marquee tournament and the images and videos going viral on social media do not paint a very positive picture.
The Champions Trophy is scheduled to start on February 19 in Karachi with India playing its matches in Dubai due to security concerns in Pakistan.
Pakistan set to miss third deadline to complete renovations of stadiums
The Pakistan Cricket Board has already missed two deadlines (31 December) and (January 25) to complete the renovation work at the stadiums and is set to miss another deadline on January 30. In fact, according to a report in Dawn, PCB has already pushed the deadline to complete work.
It’s rather unusual for a host nation to still undergoing renovation and construction work at a time when the hosts should put the finishing touches.
After being handed the hosting rights for an ICC event for the first time since the 1996 World Cup, the Pakistan Cricket Board should have treated the Champions Trophy as an opportunity to restore its reputation. Looking at the current state of affairs, it seems they have damaged it further.
The Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan is already setting new standard.
Check out the world-class seats in their stadium—better bring your own cushion if you’re attending! #ChampionsTrophy2025 #ChampionsTrophy pic.twitter.com/4WrbkDm0Bo— Sports Buzz (@SportsbBuzz) January 29, 2025
Did ICC make a mistake in awarding hosting rights to Pakistan?
ICC should have known better before giving the hosting rights to Pakistan for its second-biggest 50-over competition. Was choosing a host country where the stadiums needed a complete overhaul and not a minor renovation job the right move by ICC? Pakistan’s reputation is well-known across the world. In Pakistan, nepotism, favouritism and corruption are pervasive.
Four years ago, legendary Pakistan batter Zaheer Abbas gave a damning opinion on the state of affairs in his country. Abbas had accused the Pakistan Cricket Board of being “soft” in dealing with corruption in the country’s cricket.
How can ICC expect to stage a tournament smoothly in a country that is notorious for its negligent attitude?
Several experts and fans in the past have called out Pakistani cricket players and the Pakistan cricket board for unprofessional behaviour, which breeds poor performance and a lack of internet to learn from their mistakes.
According to an ICC insider, Allardice paid the price for his failure to provide a clear update on Pakistan’s preparedness to host the 2025 Champions Trophy. It will be interesting to see who takes charge as the next ICC CEO and how Pakistan recovers from the latest setback to the preparations for the Champions Trophy 2025.
It says a lot about Pakistan cricket, which should have left no stone unturned to prepare seamlessly to host their first ICC tournament in almost three decades. All they have done till now is failing to get the basics right.
Champions Trophy 2025: Having missed two deadlines to renovate the stadiums, Pakistan Cricket Board faces race against time to be ready in time for the marquee event Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
