ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Pakistani journalist exposes ‘tournament-ready’ Gaddafi Stadium; internet can’t stop laughing | Mint

Are the stadiums in Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi ready for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025? This is the biggest question in everyone’s minds with just over a month to go before the mega event kicks off in Pakistan. 

The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 starts in Pakistan on February 19. The deadline for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to hand over the stadiums to the International Cricket Council (ICC) is January 25.

Among the three venues, the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore was to undergo major reconstruction, with the spectator capacity increasing from 21,500 to over 34,000. The new pavilion will include five-star facilities for players, match officials, and other dignitaries. New seats and cutting-edge high-resolution replay screens are also among the works to be finished.

While the PCB and the media in the country are hopeful of all the work to be finished within the deadline, in reality, things look a bit different. In a video shared by a Pakistani journalist, it’s safe to say the Gaddafi Stadium looked half-ready.

Based on the video, the workers have started installing the seats in just one block of the stadium while the rest is yet to be covered. The hospitality boxes at the Gaddafi Stadium looked to have been 70 per cent ready with the electrical works going on.

However, that major talking point is the enclosure just below the hospitality boxes where a small gallery is likely to be constructed. It could be seen that only the the structuring work has started at that particular section with the concrete yet to be poured in.

Tons of steel and wood mould were seen which will be required for concrete be poured. Usually, any concrete structure needs at least a couple of weeks to solidify followed by proper watering for strengthening. With the reconstruction work being done in winter, it will take more days to fully gain strength unlike the summer days.

The space between the ground and stands is yet to be complete with cranes can be seen levelling the space and lots of bricks laying around. A layer off concrete will be poured into the area across the stadium to make it look complete.

If the outside the stadium is to be talked about, the installation of glass panes in the main building of the Gaddafi Stadium have started. But a major ground work is yet to be finished as piles of mud were seen stacked on the background along with lots of bricks around.

Workers were also seen digging big holes in the ground. With just nine days left before the January 25 deadline, a complete handover of the Gaddafi Stadium looks impossible let alone challenging. To add to that, the floodlights and the digital screens are yet to be installed.

Internet can’t keep calm

Meanwhile, internet couldn’t keep calm at the sight of the Gaddafi Stadium and the way reconstruction work have progressed ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

“Did the concrete cure in 9 days ? I see the steel and wood mould ready for concrete be poured ! It takes 2 weeks minimum,” wrote one user. Another questioned about the trails and safety checks.

“What a weird guy. 30 days before a tournament starts and the stadium isn’t even ready let alone trials and safety checks, and he’s boosting? India has 6 times more world class stadiums, so we don’t need any advice,” he said.

“Looking at the progress, it just can’t be ready before 25th Jan. If PCB is to handover it to ICC on 25th, it can only be a half baked solution,” said another user.

What happens if the venues don’t get ready on time? 

An ICC delegation had visited Pakistan to take a stock of the venues. While they remain tightlipped about the progress work, certainly the ICC is concerned about whether all the three venues will be ready before February 12 (final deadline for handover of three venues) or not.

In case, the venues aren’t ready on time, there might be a possibility that the tournament gets shifted to United Arab Emirates (UAE). “It’s a no-brainer on what would happen if PCB misses deadlines and venues don’t meet ICC checklist,” a source was quoted as saying by ET. 

“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 source added.