The chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Mohsin Naqvi has decided to invite the Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif for the foundation stone laying ceremony at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, sources told Geo News on Sunday.
Sharif will be the chief guest of the ceremony which will be hosted by Naqvi, who was elected the chairman PCB unopposed earlier this year.
The foundation laying stone ceremony is likely to be held on Monday, August 5, and Sharif will be informed about the upgradation of the stadiums for the Champions Trophy 2025.
The demolishing work at the Gaddafi Stadium was completed in June as Naqvi had set the deadline for the work to be completed and the debris of the building has already been removed.
The main building will be moved closer to the box, the front of the building will have hospitality boxes and the back will have PCB offices.
The plan is to expand the enclosures on the right and left sides adjacent to the main building, the sources added.
It is worth mentioning that the upgrade of the stadiums is part of PCB’s plan for the 2025 Champions Trophy.
Three venues — Karachi, Rawalpindi and Lahore — will host the matches of eight teams and according to PCB's proposed schedule to ICC, all of India's matches will take place in Lahore.
The PCB also allocated Rs12.80 billion for upgradation of three stadiums. Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium, Karachi's National Bank Cricket Arena and Rawalpindi International Cricket Stadium will be elevated ahead of the marquee event.
Except India, all eight teams that will participate in the Champions Trophy have already played in Pakistan and the PCB believes that India does not have a strong reason not to come here.
The proposed dates for the Champions Trophy are from 19th February to 9th March.
This event will mark the return of the ICC Champions Trophy after an eight-year hiatus, with its last occurrence in 2017, when Pakistan emerged victorious by defeating India in the final.
Sohail Imran Sohail Imran is a senior reporter for Geo News.
