Pak builds stadiums to revive cricket

Islamabad: In a bid to revive international cricket at home, Pakistan has decided to establish new stadiums in the most secured areas of the country like Islamabad, as reported on Wednesday.

International cricket events have been suspended in Pakistan since the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in March 2009 in Lahore. On Monday, following a 22-year-old proposal, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and Capital Development Authority (CDA), the civic authority of Islamabad, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to construct the largest ever International Cricket Stadium of the country in Islamabad.

The stadium would also have a world class cricket academy equipped with latest sports facilities at an area of 35 acres. Originally the aim behind establishing the new stadium was to present a well-secured and ideal atmosphere to the international players, though the proposal was pending for last two decades, said a source at the PCB requesting anonymity.

In a bid to revive international cricket at home, Pakistan has decided to establish new stadiums.

"Yes, it's one of those struggles that PCB has been doing to convince international cricket nations to send their team to play in Pakistan," said the source. The PCB would start developing the stadium in a year's time and pay Rs 50 million (about $550,000) as a bank guarantee to Islamabad's civic authority.

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