PCB rubbishes speculation about Champions Trophy being moved out of country

Lahore: The Pakistan Cricket Board has rubbished speculations that the ICC Champions Trophy will be moved out of the country due to delayed construction work at three stadiums that will host the event, starting February 19.

The venues in Pakistan organising the tournament are Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium and Karachi’s National Bank Stadium, while India will play all its matches in Dubai.

A PCB source said that the presence of a large International Cricket Council (ICC) delegation, including broadcast, hospitality and event operations officials, is an affirmation that the event is on schedule in Pakistan.

“The PCB has spent nearly PKR 12 billion to upgrade our stadiums to make them fitting for an event like the Champions Trophy, which was awarded to us,” he said.

The source also said that an earlier statement about the stadium’s work progress was also given out because of speculation in the media that the event would be moved out because of incomplete work at the venues.

“We gave the statement because our media also started flashing such speculative news without checking the facts. This would have caused chaos and confusion amongst the PCB, ICC, government, commercial partners and fans affecting the ticketing and marketing of the event,” he said.

The official added that a local reporter had, without permission, filmed the construction work at National Stadium Karachi and presented a negative picture.

“The stadium’s work is being monitored closely by the PCB and concerned officials and they would be ready to host the CT matches on time,” he said.