It was designed by Russian-born Pakistani architect and civil engineer Nasreddin Murat-Khan, and constructed by Mian Abdul Khaliq and Company in 1959. The stadium was renovated for the 1996 Cricket World Cup when it hosted the final.[6]
In addition to Pakistan home games and international matches, the Gaddafi Stadium has also hosted several matches of the Pakistan Super League, with the first one being the final of the 2017 edition.[7][8] In March 2022, the PCB began the process to rename the stadium to the name of a sponsor for financial reasons.[9]
History
Construction
The stadium was built in 1959 and was designed by architect and civil engineer Nasreddin Murat-Khan and construction was completed by Mian Abdul Khaliq and Company.[10] It was originally established as the Lahore Stadium.[11]
Renaming stadium
On 19 March 1972, the stadium was renamed in honour of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi by the then president of Pakistan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto while addressing a public meeting in Lahore.[12][13] On 23 October 2011, the Pakistan Cricket Board discussed renaming the stadium following the death of Gaddafi, to support the new government in Libya.
The Punjab Olympic Association made a similar request in late October 2011 to the provincial chief minister. Association secretary Idrees Haider Khawaja said, "I don't think his profile is inspirational enough to link with our cricket stadium's identity."[11] However, the stadium's name was not changed.[14]
Redesigned
In 1995–96, the Gaddafi Stadium was renovated by architect Nayyar Ali Dada, who was qualified from National College of Arts, for the 1996 Cricket World Cup.[5] Dada's redesign was done with red, hand-laid brickwork and arches. Dada also had plastic seating installed in place of the existing concrete benches. The lower portion under the stands was enclosed and converted to shops for boutiques and offices. Gaddafi Stadium, being the largest cricket stadium in Pakistan, used to have capacity of 65,250 spectators, until the redesigning of its enclosures reduced the capacity to 27,000.[15]
Cricket history
International cricket history
In both 1968 and 1977, Test matches played against England were affected by riots.[5]
Pakistan has enjoyed some memorable moments on the ground, including a fifth-wicket stand of 281 between Javed Miandad and Asif Iqbal against New Zealand in 1976 and an innings and 324 run win against New Zealand in 2002.[6]
2009 Sri Lankan team attack
On 3 March 2009, the scheduled third day of second Test of 2008–09 Sri Lanka tour of Pakistan, the Sri Lankan team's convoy was attacked by armed militants at Liberty Roundabout, near Gaddafi Stadium. Eight Sri Lankan players were injured, including Sri Lankan captain, Mahela Jayawardene. The Sri Lankan team was air-lifted from Gaddafi Stadium to a nearby airbase, from where they were evacuated back to Sri Lanka. This event marked brought a halt to international cricket in Pakistan.[5]
In August 2017, PCB along with ICC started to improve international cricket in Pakistan. With that, under heavy security, PCB planned World XI tour to Pakistan for three T20Is.[18][19]
In August 2017, Thilanga Sumathipala, president of Sri Lanka Cricket, said that he would like to play at least one of the three T20I matches in Lahore, Pakistan during October.[20][21][22] In March 2009, the Sri Lanka cricket team were attacked by terrorists while travelling to the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Since then, the only Test side to visit Pakistan has been Zimbabwe, when they toured during May 2015.[20] Two of Sri Lanka's current team, Chamara Kapugedera and Suranga Lakmal were on the bus during the 2009 terrorist attack, and both could have been selected for the T20I squad for this series.[23]
In September 2017, the fixtures were confirmed, with the final T20I match of the series scheduled to be played in Lahore.[24] Sri Lanka Cricket said that players have a "contractual obligation" to play the match in Lahore, but it was unlikely to issue penalties to any player who chose not to visit Pakistan.[23] However, on 14 October 2017, the Sri Lankan team expressed their reluctance to travel to Pakistan, requesting that the fixture is moved to a neutral venue.[25] On 16 October 2017, Sri Lanka Cricket confirmed that the fixture in Lahore would go ahead as planned, but their limited-overs captain, Upul Tharanga, had pulled out of the match.[26] Despite the concerns from the players, team manager Asanka Gurusinha felt that a competitive squad would be named.[27] On 19 October 2017, Sri Lanka's chief selector, Graham Labrooy, said that players who do not travel to Lahore would be unlikely to be selected for the other two T20I fixtures.[28] The squad for the T20I fixtures was named two days later, with Thisara Perera selected as captain.[29]
The Sri Lankan squad arrived in Lahore under "extraordinary" security and made their way to the team's hotel in a bomb-proof bus.[30] Ahead of the T20I in Lahore, Cricket Sri Lanka's president Thilanga Sumathipala said that the team was privileged to be in Pakistan and that he would help support the country in hosting more tours.[31]Najam Sethi, chairman of the PCB, said that this fixture would be the start of international cricket returning to the country, with him expecting every country to play in Pakistan by the end of 2020.[32] Pakistan went on to win the T20I series 3–0.[33]
A T20I match scheduled to be played against Bangladesh on 27 January 2020 at the Gaddafi stadium was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to heavy rain.[34]
On 5 March 2017, the final of the 2017 Pakistan Super League was played in the stadium, the first time a PSL fixture was being played in Pakistan.[7][8] After the success of holding the final, the Pakistan Cricket Board decided to play two games of the 2018 Pakistan Super League in Pakistan.[37] In September 2019, the Pakistan Cricket Board named it as one of the venues to host matches in the 2019–20 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.[38]
^Murtaza Razvi (25 February 2011). "A stadium called Gaddafi". Indian Express (newspaper). Archived from the original on 7 April 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
^"Lahore stadium named after Libyan President". Dawn, Karachi. 20 March 1972. p. Front Page.
Pakistan v 
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Bangladesh
Zimbabwe
New Zealand
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