Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will inaugurate the revamped Gaddafi Stadium on February 7, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi said on Friday.
The PCB had renovated three stadiums – in Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi – for the upcoming Champions Trophy.
Pakistan will host the eight-team tournament, which will take place from February 19 to March 9. India will play its games in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
“God willing, the Lahore stadium will be inaugurated on February 7,” Naqvi told the media at the stadium. He added that the Champions Trophy opening event has moved from Karachi, and will take place at the Gaddafi Stadium on February 16.
The chairman said the stadium’s renovation was in the final stages with workers giving it final touch-ups, stressing that 100% of the work will be completed before February 7.
“Construction and renovation of Gaddafi Stadium was promised to be completed on January 31,” he said adding that the work at the historical stadium began in October last year.
The team for the Champions Trophy will be announced later in the day.
In response to a question, he said that some officials would visit the country in the semi-finals, in the middle of a tournament and the final.
When asked about the absence of the Indian skipper in the captains’ event, he said: “The ICC has to coordinate it. We are now in a hybrid model, that’s why we have a problem. Even if we had it in Pakistan, we would have arranged every time as not all teams are arriving here on the same date.”