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[PICTURES] Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium being given new look

hadi123

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LAHORE - The historic Gaddafi Stadium is being given new look for hosting three match series between Pakistan and the ICC World XI matches here from September 12 to 15.

The essential renovation work, whitewash and paint work are being carried out for the eagerly-awaited clash between world’s top notch cricketers and the home side. "The arena will be tastefully decorated before the lunch of the series as we still have few days left to give the entire stadium a new look", said a PCB official, who is supervising the work.

He said various enclosures of the stadium have been cleaned and being whitewashed and broken plastic chairs are being replaced. He said the stadium and its outer side will be tastefully decorated which will add to the grandeur of one of world’s best cricket ground. "The preparations are very similar to the final of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), which we successfully organised earlier this year,” he added.

He said the ground staff is also busy on preparing the wickets and the outfield and they have shaved the grass of the outfield to shape it in an attractive pattern. "The outfield is being watered to keep the grass green and the pitches are prepared in a professional manner,” he said.

The PCB official said it is a historic moment in Pakistan’s cricket that ICC World XI will be visiting the country in a few days. "This visit has its own significance as it will mark the return of international cricket in Pakistan and we look forward to organise this series in a trend-setting manner,” he added.

He said the spectators will be provided all the necessary facilities including the drinking water inside the stadium. "We will be utilizing our experience of holding the PSL final during the matches of the series to make this event a big success,” the official said.

Lahore gaddafi.jpg

http://nation.com.pk/sports/06-Sep-2017/gaddafi-stadium-being-embellished-for-world-xi-series
 
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Important that this stadium look good.

Also why not put big screens in other stadiums around the country and get crowds to come in? with concerts etc
 
Better would be to destroy all other stadiums in the country and divert all funds to the Gaddafi Stadium because as per PCB matches can only be held there.
 
Better would be to destroy all other stadiums in the country and divert all funds to the Gaddafi Stadium because as per PCB matches can only be held there.

As per foreign security experts.

GSL is where the isolation began and GSL is where it will end.
 
From 2009 to 2017 they have not improved anything in the country and wasted so many years and now all of a sudden there is a rush to improve the Lahore one due to 3 T20 matches.

PCB really is a circus and have implemented nothing to get cricket into the grass roots.
 
From 2009 to 2017 they have not improved anything in the country and wasted so many years and now all of a sudden there is a rush to improve the Lahore one due to 3 T20 matches.

PCB really is a circus and have implemented nothing to get cricket into the grass roots.

the grassroots are increasingly privatised, with the PSL getting involved..
 
Were they sleeping all these years and now rushing the things.
 
The actual ground/grass has always been awful, and continues to be awful.
 
Are they going to relay the wickets too?

I am really confused with their work with the pitches and outfield.

They said that we will be relaying the wickets in major grounds around Pakistan and GSL was included in that.They possibly did relay the wicket as I read somewhere sometime ago.But the main question is it takes good 2-3 years for a pitch to settle down and behaving you wnat it to.So I don't understand how the pitches are going to behave as they are very young.There might be lot of uneven bounce.
 
It needs a new name too. They should name it after someone like Edhi. Or make some money and sell the rights to someone like Emirates.
 
It needs a new name too. They should name it after someone like Edhi. Or make some money and sell the rights to someone like Emirates.

Pretty solid idea of selling it, However NCA is just alongside as well as PCB's premises so I doubt they'll do it, However case could be made for selling another stadium to private sector.
 
Don't care about stadium. Do care about quality of broadcast. Those in the stadium will be a fraction of those who wl watch it
 
I am really confused with their work with the pitches and outfield.

They said that we will be relaying the wickets in major grounds around Pakistan and GSL was included in that.They possibly did relay the wicket as I read somewhere sometime ago.But the main question is it takes good 2-3 years for a pitch to settle down and behaving you wnat it to.So I don't understand how the pitches are going to behave as they are very young.There might be lot of uneven bounce.

Still, it's better to start at least Even if PCB started to relay domestic wicket in 2035, it would have taken 2038 to settle down.

However, I actually am not sure if it's done - in fact didn't read anything in this regard & I am not sure if there is enough local expertise on this. Just digging the mud & rolling thereafter isn't the target.
 
Still, it's better to start at least Even if PCB started to relay domestic wicket in 2035, it would have taken 2038 to settle down.

However, I actually am not sure if it's done - in fact didn't read anything in this regard & I am not sure if there is enough local expertise on this. Just digging the mud & rolling thereafter isn't the target.

I can tell you that the whole ground in Karachi was relayed including pitches and outfield and as I heard a report on that and pictures as well.But because of the floods in Karachi I have seen pictures of water all over the stadium and the whole work has gone to the bin, unfortunately.

I read somewhere that GSL was realayed but I don't remember whether that was pitches being relayed or just the outfield.
 
Does anyone know how winning matches against World XI would impact our rankings? An integral part of the rankings are the relative positions of the teams, what is the ranking of world xi ?
 
Groundsmen are rolling down the pitches, welders are repairing barbed wire, and workers are splashing on a new coat of paint at Pakistan’s centrepiece Gaddafi Stadium, which has witnessed both history and controversy — and is now preparing to make its international cricket comeback.



Next week the ground will ring out with the sound of Pakistan’s national anthem once more as the home team takes on a star-studded World XI, the highest-profile international fixture in the country since a deadly militant attack eight years ago.

The three-match Twenty20 International series, from September 12 to 15, will be played under tight security but it is, officials hope, a new chapter for Pakistani cricket — and for the Gaddafi Stadium’s bloody, scandal-plagued and, at times, glorious story.

Named after the Libyan leader who met a grisly end at the hands of rebel fighters, the ground has seen a World Cup final and militant attack, and has been caught up in Pakistan’s nuclear ambitions and geopolitical rivalries.

The 27,000-capacity venue hosted the 1996 World Cup final, won by Sri Lanka against Australia. But it is also at the heart of the most tragic incident in Pakistan’s sporting history, after the Sri Lankan team had to be airlifted to safety when militants attacked their team bus near the stadium in 2009.

The attack, which killed eight people and wounded nine, drove international cricket — and most other sports — from the militancy-plagued country, forcing Pakistan to host its “home” fixtures in neutral venues.

Emotions ran high when Zimbabwe became the first international team to return in 2015, allowing Pakistan to play in front of their home fans. But, even as security improves dramatically, Pakistan has laboured to convince top Test-playing nations to return.

“(The 2009 attack) was the biggest blow I think Pakistan cricket would have faced,” Haroon Rashid, the director of cricket operations for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), told AFP. “If you talk about that, you just feel that the sadness is coming to you.”

Agha Zahid, the PCB’s chief curator, hoped that was changing. “We are starting a new life,” he told AFP.

Bullet marks from the March 3, 2009 attack are still visible at the cosmetics shop owned by Akbar Javed at Liberty roundabout, near the stadium, where the Sri Lankan bus was pinned down by militant gunfire.

Unlike PCB officials, he is not pleased about the stadium’s revival: security fears over previous big matches have forced him to close his shop for days, he says, and he expects similar problems for the World XI.

Others took a more cheerful view. “It’s the best stadium in Pakistan,” said Tauseef Sadozai, manager of the nearby Dawat-e-Khas restaurant. “This venue has missed a lot of cricket. Losing a few days of business isn’t greater than losing international cricket.”

First known as Lahore Stadium when it was built in 1959, the ground was renamed in honour of the Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 1974 when he spoke out in support of Pakistan’s quest for a nuclear bomb.

After Kadhafi was killed in 2011, a grassroots debate began on whether Pakistan really wanted to link its greatest sporting passion to, in the words of one newspaper columnist, a “brutal Arab dictator”. Six years later, the name persists amid troubling times for Pakistani cricket.

In 2010, the year after the Sri Lankan team attack, Pakistan was rocked when then captain Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were caught in a spot-fixing scandal on a tour to England. All three were banned for five years and also jailed.

Spot-fixing also tainted what was meant to be one of the greatest moments at Gaddafi Stadium: the final of the popular Pakistan Super League (PSL) earlier this year.

Sharjeel Khan was banned last month for five years over spot-fixing during the PSL, while Khalid Latif’s fate is expected to be decided in the coming weeks. Four other players have also been under investigation.

As for the name, Najam Sethi, PCB’s new chief, last year called for the stadium to be rebranded in tribute to the late founder of Pakistan’s largest welfare organisation, Abdul Sattar Edhi. Edhi’s work uplifting the nation’s destitute cemented his place in the hearts of Pakistan’s cricket-loving masses.

“It was actively considered,”Amjad Hussain, a PCB spokesman, told AFP of the name change. “But no decision was taken.”

http://www.wisdenindia.com/cricket-...undergoes-makeover-for-world-xi-series/268588
 
It's part of history as to why Gaddafi stadium is named after Gaddafi. Changing it will be akin to misleading people. It's like changing Aurangzeb Road to APJ Abul Kalam Road
 
Outfield doesn't look half bad, but the ground itself isn't good enough to be the face of Pakistan. If PCB is hell bent on holding every match just in GSL they should atleast modernize it and bring it to the 21st century.
 
Outfield doesn't look half bad, but the ground itself isn't good enough to be the face of Pakistan. If PCB is hell bent on holding every match just in GSL they should atleast modernize it and bring it to the 21st century.

Or atleast complete the renovation which started way back in 2007 for 2008 champions trophy.
 
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Out field indeed looks great, but probably a bit more brown than it should be after monsoon, still great & it should be fast.

Wish the wickets match the efforts as well. One vote for me for Najam Sethi, if the 3rd match produces 400+ match total.
 
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Outfield doesn't look half bad, but the ground itself isn't good enough to be the face of Pakistan. If PCB is hell bent on holding every match just in GSL they should atleast modernize it and bring it to the 21st century.

I think they will, but since this tour was assigned not too long ago they are doing the best of their ability to work with what they have now. PCB has done a great job in renovating this stadium in short period.
 
It needs a new name too. They should name it after someone like Edhi. Or make some money and sell the rights to someone like Emirates.

Agree, its utter non-sense to name the stadium after a killer, dictator , who was hated in his own country. "Edhi stadium" makes lots of sense.
 
How difficult is it to have new seats and have one colour seats? The ground looks odd and ugly with different coloured seats.
 
They should install a gigantic screen or build some glass enclosures. The stadium looks so 90s.
 
They need to upgrade the stadium to 50k. Hopefully after a few home tours we can have the money to do so.
 
better off naming the stadium after Edhi a true national hero than a foreign despot that tortured and brutalised his own people
 
better off naming the stadium after Edhi a true national hero than a foreign despot that tortured and brutalised his own people

There are plenty of other stadiums that could be named after edhi.

The stadium has been known as gadaffi stadium for such a long time, no need to change it just for the sake of it.

Unless they sell stadium rights whivh i doubt anyone would buy, gadaffi should stay
 
[MENTION=135038]Major[/MENTION] find it weird myself but if.Pakistanis are ok with it then whatever.
 
[MENTION=135038]Major[/MENTION] find it weird myself but if.Pakistanis are ok with it then whatever.

Majority if pakistanis dont even care. Its just a few of them who bring this up every now and then
 
Did they relay the grass?

Looks a tad better than before, still not looking great though tbh.
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Once again lights on I can't wait &#55357;&#56842; <a href="https://t.co/iq2768iBYJ">pic.twitter.com/iq2768iBYJ</a></p>— Hasan Ali (@RealHa55an) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealHa55an/status/906593007595655168">September 9, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Difficult to comment until we see how the pitch plays!
 
The grass looks much better than what it was during PSL final.... Actually a hell lot better but let's wait to see how pitch behaves
 
We are lagging behind on standard of stadiums. Capacities are on the low side but good to see renovations at Peshawar niaz stadium and national stadium karachi
 
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Whatever happened to Islamabad stadium? They need to work on that as Islamabad is considered the safest place in the country with foriegn embasies etc

Moreover we need to have more venues than Lahore. (Good that Karachi is being added).

If half of PSL is to be organised in Pakistan next year then it should be in more place than just Khi and Lhr.
 
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