Pakistan will host the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, with foreign teams arriving as early as the first week of February, according to media reports. New Zealand and South Africa are set to land in Pakistan in early February for both the tournament and a tri-series, Express News reported.

There have been several media reports stating that the Champions Trophy 2025 might be shifted out of Pakistan due to delay in renovation work at the stadiums in the country.

Besides announcing that renovation work at the Karachi’s National Stadium and Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium is in ‘advanced stage,’ the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) also stated that an upcoming ODI tri-series,

Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi are the three venues that have been chosen to host the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 from February 19. January 25, 2025 is the deadline for the completion of works.

The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is 40 days away, but stadiums in Pakistan are far from ready. Construction is still ongoing at venues in Karachi, Lahore, and Rawalpindi. The ICC is concerned about the venues meeting requirements on time.

Pakistan are facing a race against time, as ICC can change the Champions Trophy 2025 venue exclusively to UAE. It is so because, the current condition of National Stadium in Karachi, Gadaffi Stadium in Lahore and the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi is not apt for the tournament,

Earlier, reports claimed that the renovation works at the stadiums in Karachi, Lahore, and Rawalpindi still have a long way to go, with fencing work, floodlight placement, and finishing new multi-story enclosures being incomplete.