If you are a cricket fan and like watching matches in a stadium then this content is for you. In this blog, we will talk about famous cricket stadiums in Pakistan, especially those which have seen historical matches. Stadiums are in descending order on the basis of their fame and no of hosted matches.
1.National Cricket Stadium, Karachi
From the last resting place of The Father of Nation Quaid E Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah to the slums of Lyari, Karachi has a lot to offer. National Stadium Karachi is also one of the most important places. Its ground has seen some legendary plays and a great number of sports enthusiasts shouting and encouraging their favorite players ever since its establishment.
National Stadium, Karachi is the most famous cricket grounds in Pakistan which was
Established on 21st April 1955. The stadium has hosted both local and international cricket tournaments, including T20 Internationals, ODIs, and test matches. The First International test match was hosted here in 1955 (Pakistan Vs India).
The national stadium, Karachi has a rich history. It has seen international cricket tournaments twice in history, most of them were World Cups. There has been Waqar Younis, Imran Khan, Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara, Viv Richards, Mahela Jayawardene, and Sachin Tendulkar making their legendary records and contributing to the rich history of this stadium.
Karachi National Stadium was considered the biggest cricket arena in Pakistan; however, its seating capacity was reduced to 40,000 after some renovations. Things went bad for Pakistan in terms of cricket for a time but fortunately, the ground sprung back to life with the launch of PSL now this ground is the hometown of Karachi Kings.
2.Qaddafi Stadium, Lahore
Gaddafi Stadium Lahore is situated in Gulberg Lahore Punjab. It has a capacity of 27,000 seats and it was constructed in 1959. It was originally named Lahore Stadium but later in 1974, it was changed to Qaddafi Stadium after the Libyan Leader. The stadium is also housing the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). National cricket academy is also located here. It is also the home ground of the Lahori PSL team Lahore Qalandars.
Gaddafi Stadium has hosted 1987 and 1996 World Cups. The final match of the second season of PSL in March 2017 was played in this very stadium. This stadium was the first to have modern floodlights with its own power backup generators. Nayyar Ali Dada was the chief architect during its 1990 renovations who gave it a Mughal art look with an outer red brick structure.
THE first T20 international was played here in Gaddafi Stadium and it has also hosted the greatest number of matches for PSL especially in 2020 before the Covid-19 outbreak hit Pakistan.
3.Multan Cricket Stadium-Multan
Multan cricket stadium is the second biggest stadium in Pakistan with a seating capacity of 30,000. It was established in 2001 and is located near Vehari road. It hosted its first-ever match in 2001 against Bangladesh for the Asian test championship. It was a replacement of Ibn-e-Qassim Bagh stadium in the heart of Multan city.
It is the home ground of Multan Sultans the Pakistan Super League team from southern Punjab. The stadium hosted its first PSL match on February 26th, 2020 between Multan Sultans and Peshawar Zalmi. Five PSL matches have been hosted here. Like Gaddafi stadium Lahore it is equipped with Floodlights for night matches.
4. RAWALPINDI CRICKET STADIUM—RAWALPINDI
Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium was established on 19th January 1992 along the Murree road that leads to Sector I-9, Islamabad and Faizabad bus stand. It hosted a test match in 1993. Test match series returned to Pakistan in December 2019 which was against Siri Lanka It serves the capital city of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. With its recent renovation, it now has a seating capacity of up to 28,000. It is the home ground to the Islamabad United PSL team.
The Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium was a busy playground during the 1996 World Cup but several Test matches have also been played here. The stadium is planned to host 8 matches for PSL.
5- JINNAH STADIUM—GUJRANWALA
The Jinnah Stadium in Gujranwala was built through 1980 – 1990 and its first match was a Test match was held here in 1991, played against India. The stadium has now a seating capacity of 40,000. It was constructed by Muhammad Aslam Butt (former mayor of Gujranwala) and designed by Amjad Saleem Tahir.
The stadium is located on Sialkot Road which leads to a lot of other cities. Several ODIs have been played here, including one match from the 1987 Cricket World Cup which was won by Australia after leaving Both India and Pakistan in the semi-finals.
This ends our list of the 5 most famous cricket stadiums in Pakistan. For more information like that keep reading Globbiz blogs. Now that the cricket scene is on rising thanks to the Pakistan Super League, we will bring you more updated information about cricket stadiums soon.
