PCB seeks ground control

Shaharyar Khan, chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will once again ask General Pervez Musharraf, President of Pakistan, to allow the board to take control of stadiums in Rawalpindi and Faisalabad.

Shaharyar is due to meet the president at a reception in Islamabad in honour of Pakistan's U-19 World Cup winning team and the chairman is also expected to brief him about Pakistan's successful bid for the 2008 Champions Trophy and also a joint bid for the 2011 World Cup with India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

The two grounds are expected to stage matches during the Champions Trophy and also the World Cup. The board is not happy with the stadiums as they are currently and is keen on upgrading them before the ICC tournaments. The PCB currently has administrative control of two cricket grounds -- Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore and the National Stadium in Karachi - and both are thought to be in the best conditions in Pakistan. Other grounds, including Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad, are not maintained as well.

"We had already requested the President for his support in our bid to get cricketing control of the stadiums in Rawalpindi and Faisalabad. Now the PCB chairman will remind him again," Abbas Zaidi, PCB's director of board operations, told The News.

"It is good that we will be hosting the Champions Trophy and later World Cup matches," he said. "But after securing the rights, the real challenge is to be ready for the events and stage them successfully."

Zaidi maintained that the board only wants cricketing control of the grounds, adding that the city associations can retain commercial rights. "We don't want any financial gains. In fact we are ready to put in substantial funds to improve the two stadiums."

The request is part of recent efforts on behalf of the board to bring stadiums up to international standards for the tournamentsl. Hyderabad's Niaz stadium is likely to be under PCB supervision soon and a new stadium is being built in Islamabad.

The board has also earmarked Rs 550million for the expansion of Karachi's National Stadium as well as setting up a member's club at the facility. "We have estimated it would now cost us around Rs 550million (USD9,122,574) or more because we have plans to turn it into an ultra-modern facility." That project is scheduled to begin this summer. The PCB ad-hoc committee is expected to make a decision for tenders after its June 5 meeting.