Lahore: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) held its 72nd Board of Governors meeting at the National Cricket Academy on Saturday, chaired by Mohsin Naqvi. The board approved substantial funding for the development and upgrade of major cricket venues across Pakistan and significantly increased the budget for the upcoming domestic season and women’s cricket.

According to Pakistan Cricket Board, the meeting saw the approval of a 12.8 billion rupee development budget specifically earmarked for upgrades to the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Rawalpindi Stadium, and National Bank Stadium in Karachi. A total of 4.5 billion rupees has been set aside for the 2024-25 domestic cricket season. Additionally, the budget for Women’s Cricket was increased from 70 million to 240 million rupees, alongside an increase in the remuneration in the central contracts of the women players.

The board also decided that PCB would oversee the maintenance of 12 cricket grounds, in addition to providing funds for ground staff working at 100 different grounds nationwide. Another key agenda item discussed was the planning for the successful staging of the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025, with strategies laid out to improve the quality of domestic cricket.

Chairman PCB Mohsin Naqvi assured that the upgrades of the three major venues would be completed well in time for the ICC Champions Trophy and emphasized PCB’s commitment to enhancing facilities to world-class standards for the tournament. The board is also focused on exploring new venues for domestic tournaments in the upcoming season.