The Jinnah Stadium, formerly known as Municipal Stadium, is a

multipurpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used for multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a design philosophy that stre ...

Gujranwala Gujranwala is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fourth most-populous city in the Pakistani province of Punjab. Located in northern-central Punjab's Rachna Doab, it serves as the headquarters of its Gujranwala District, epony ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. It is used mostly for

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

matches. Built in 1981, the creator of this stadium is Alhaj Muhammad Aslam Butt (former mayor of Gujranwala). This stadium can accommodate 20,000 spectators and is known for having one of the fastest pitches in the world. Jinnah Stadium is the largest stadium in Gujranwala, followed by the Mini Stadium, an association of football ground which has a capacity of 15,000. Since 2000, due to lack of international matches has led to the stadium being used for political rallies. The absence of a five-star hotel in Gujranwala is cited as the main reason for the lack of international matches at the venue.

History

Jinnah Stadium was built as Municipal Stadium in 1981. It hosted its first and only Test match in 1991. Over the years, cricketers such as

Wasim Akram Wasim Akram (Punjabi language, Punjabi, ; born 3 June 1966) is a Pakistani cricket commentator, Coach (sport), coach, and former cricketer and captain (cricket), captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. Akram is regarded as one of the ...

Waqar Younis Waqar Younis Maitla HI ( Punjabi, ; born 16 November 1971) is a Pakistani cricket coach, commentator and former cricketer who captained Pakistan national cricket team. A right-arm fast bowler, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest bowle ...

Arjuna Ranatunga Deshamanya Arjuna Ranatunga (; ; born 1 December 1963), is a Sri Lankan politician and former cricketer, who was the 1996 Cricket World Cup winning captain for Sri Lanka, and scored the winning boundary in the final. He is regarded as the pion ...

, and

Sanath Jayasuriya Deshabandu Sanath Teran Jayasuriya (, ; born 30 June 1969), is a former Sri Lankan cricketer, captain, cricket administrator and coach. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest all rounders ever to play in ODI cricket. A left arm orthodox sp ...

have played at Jinnah Stadium.

Sachin Tendulkar Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (; ; born 24 April 1973) is an Indian former international cricketer who List of India national cricket captains#Men's cricket, captained the Indian national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest cricketer ...

made his

ODI cricket One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four year ...

debut in 1989 at this ground. The last ODI match played there was between

and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

in 2000 and was the first ODI match

Aleem Dar Aleem Dar PP ( Punjabi, ; born 6 June 1968) is a Pakistani cricket umpire and former first-class cricketer. He is a former member of the Elite Panel of ICC Umpires. Dar won the David Shepherd Trophy three years in a row from 2009 to 2011, aft ...

umpired. As of August 2024, Jinnah Stadium is under consideration for hosting some matches of Pakistan Super League 2025 edition, although no renovation work has been done on the stadium in the recent years.

Cricket World Cup

This stadium hosted an ODI match in the

1996 Cricket World Cup The 1996 Cricket World Cup, also called the Wills World Cup 1996 for sponsorship reasons, was the sixth Cricket World Cup organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was co-hosted by India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The tournament wa ...

between

and

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...

One Day International centuries

The following table summarizes the One-Day International centuries scored at Jinnah Stadium, Gujranwala

Five-wicket Hauls in One Day internationals

Only 1 five wicket haul has been taken at Jinnah Stadium, Gujranwala

References

{{Cricket grounds in Pakistan 1983 establishments in Pakistan Test cricket grounds in Pakistan Multi-purpose stadiums in Pakistan Cricket grounds in Pakistan Sport in Gujranwala Memorials to Muhammad Ali Jinnah

History

Cricket World Cup

One Day International centuries

Five-wicket Hauls in One Day internationals

See also

References