LAHORE: Owing to the renovation work currently underway at Karachi’s Nati­onal Bank Stadium for next year’s ICC Champions Trophy, spectators will not be allowed entry at the venue during the second Test of the forthcoming two-match series between Pakistan and Bangladesh, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) annou­nced on Wednesday.

This will be the first time that a Test match in Pakistan will be held without fans at a stadium, mainly because of refurbishment work at the venue.

The last time spectators were not allowed to witness Tests in Pakistan was in January-February 2021 when South Africa played a two-Test series in Karachi and Rawalpindi due to the precautions in place over Covid-19 pandemic.

“In light of [the] ongoing construction work at the National Bank Stadium as part of [the] preparations for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has made the difficult decision to hold the second Test between Pakistan and Bangladesh, scheduled from Aug 30 to Sept 3, without spectators in attendance,” the PCB said in a media release issued on Wednesday.

“We understand the vital role that our passionate spectators play in cricket, providing inspiration and motivation to our players. However, the health and safety of our fans is our utmost priority. After careful consideration of all available options, we have decided that the safest course of action is to hold the second Test in front of an empty stadium,” the release added.

TICKET SALES SUSPENDED

It further said, “As a result of this decision, ticket sales [for the Karachi Test] have been suspended with immediate effect. Fans who have already purchased tickets will receive a full refund automatically, with the amo­unt credited to the account details provided at the time of purchase.

“While we deeply regret any inconvenience this may cause, we want to assure our valued fans that the ongoing stadium upgrades are aimed at enhancing their experience. The renovations are part of our commitment to making the venue more spectator-friendly and preparing it for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, which will be the first ICC event hosted in Pakistan since 1996.”

It may be mentioned here that the renovation work for holding the Champions Tro­phy at three major stadiums of the country — National Bank Stadium, Gaddafi Stadium (Lahore) and the Pindi Cricket Stadium (Rawalpindi) — is still in the initial stage. A hefty budget of Rs12.80 billion has been allocated for this overhaul.

According to sources, the PCB has set Dec 31, 2024 as the deadline to complete the construction work at the three stadiums and is looking to work day and night in order to achieve the target before the deadline.

Though it seems nice that Pakistan’s three major cricket venues will get a major uplift, the timing of their renovation has raised a few questions with a packed international home season which will overlap in some degree with the domestic circuit, all set to start on Sept 1.

Dawn has learnt that the PCB, faced with a huge task of managing the upcoming international home season during which Pakistan will host as many as seven Tests (including three against England and two against West Indies), a tri-nation ODI series involving South Africa and New Zealand followed by the all-important Champions Trophy, had to take a difficult and unusual decision of making the Pakistan-Bangladesh Test in Karachi spectator-less.

It also emerged that staging more than one international game at a specific venue, to overcome the rush of games, could have caused unnecessary deterioration of the pitches.

The Gaddafi Stadium which is already unavailable due to its ongoing revamp and logistical challenges in Multan, Dawn understands, are also the reasons behind this decision of making Karachi Test without spectators by the PCB whose top priority in the coming season would be the Champions Trophy featuring world’s top eight cricket teams.

The prevailing scenario can badly affect the series against England in October when the tourists are scheduled to play two of the three Tests in Karachi and Rawalpindi.

However, sources said that fans can hope to watch the ent­ire England series in Multan, Karachi and Rawalpindi.

DESIGNS OF VENUES’ UPGRADATION APPROVED

Meanwhile, the designs of the abovementioned venues, made by an England-based company titled BDP Pattern, was approved by PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi.

According to a PCB press release, Mohsin visited the BDP Pattern headquarters in Lon­don on Wednesday and met its chairman Chris Harding. Besides meeting the BDP Pattern chairman, the PCB chairman met the company’s head of the sports division, design director and key engineering and architectural officials.

The meetings culminated in the final approval of designs for the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, National Bank Stadium in Karachi, and Pindi Cricket Stadium.

BDP Pattern officials briefed Mr Naqvi on the designs for the three stadiums, highlighting that the plans meet international standards. BDP Pattern has designed nearly 200 stadiums globally and has received over 1,000 design quality awards. Established 63 years ago, BDP Pattern has a long history of excellence in stadium design.

Speaking on the occasion, Mohsin expressed his satisfaction with the quality of the des­i­gns for the three stadiums and stressed that completing the construction work within the given time was a major task.

Published in Dawn, August 15th, 2024