The National Stadium, also known as National Bank Stadium for

sponsorship Sponsoring something (or someone) is the act of supporting an event, activity, person, or organization financially or through the provision of products or services. The individual or group that provides the support, similar to a benefactor, is k ...

reasons, is an international

cricket ground Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field, at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails (small sticks) balanced on three stumps. Two players from the ...

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

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# ...

,Previously British India owned by the

Pakistan Cricket Board The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), formerly known as Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan (BCCP), is a sports governing body for cricket in Pakistan responsible for controlling and organising all tours and matches undertaken by the Pakistan ...

. It is the home ground of the

Karachi Kings Karachi Kings (; ) is a Pakistani professional franchise Twenty20 cricket team that competes in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The team is based in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh, and was formed in 2015 by the Pakistan Cricket Boar ...

franchise in

Pakistan Super League The Pakistan Super League (PSL), also known as HBL PSL for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Twenty20 cricket league in Pakistan, organised by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Founded by the PCB in 2015, the league features six city-bas ...

and other domestic cricket teams of Sindh. It was built in the early 1950s under the supervision of senior civil engineer Abdul Rasheed Khan (WP) and Kafiluddin, and was formally inaugurated in April 1955. In October 2022, the

National Bank of Pakistan National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) is a Pakistani government-owned multinational commercial bank which is a subsidiary of State Bank of Pakistan. It is headquartered in Karachi, Pakistan. As of December 2022, it has over 1,500 branches across Paki ...

and the

PCB PCB may refer to: Science and technology * Polychlorinated biphenyl, an organic chlorine compound, now recognized as an environmental toxin and classified as a persistent organic pollutant * Printed circuit board, a board used in electronics * P ...

agreed to a five-year naming-rights agreement, and the stadium was renamed as National Bank Cricket Arena. The

Pakistan cricket team The Pakistan men's national cricket team represents Pakistan in international cricket. It is controlled by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the governing body for cricket in Pakistan, which is a Full Member of the International Cricket Counc ...

have a remarkable

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...

record at the ground and is known as the fortress of Pakistan cricket. The stadium has witnessed several memorable moments, such as

Viv Richards Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards (born 7 March 1952) is a retired Antiguan cricketer who represented the West Indies cricket team between 1974 and 1991. Usually batting at number three in a dominant West Indies side, Richards is widely ...

181 against

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, ...

at the

1987 Cricket World Cup The 1987 Cricket World Cup (officially known as the Reliance Cup 1987 for sponsorship reasons) was the fourth Cricket World Cup. It was held from 8 October to 8 November 1987 in India and Pakistan – the first such tournament to be held outsid ...

, Mohammad Yousuf's record ninth century of the year to break

' record of most runs in a calendar year, and

Kamran Akmal Kamran Akmal ( Punjabi, Urdu: ; born 13 January 1982) is a Pakistani cricket administrator, coach and former cricketer, who played for Pakistan as a right-handed batsman & wicketkeeper. He started his international career in November 2002 with ...

's famous century against

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

on a very difficult pitch in 2006, after

had collapsed to 39 for 6, in a memorable come-from-behind victory.

History

National Stadium was established in April 1955. At that time, Karachi was the capital of Pakistan, but the only cricket ground was the one at the Karachi Gymkhana which had limited seating capacity. A plan was formulated to develop a new stadium for which a plot of land measuring 174.5 acres was acquired by the

Pakistan Public Works Department Pakistan Public Works Department () was a federal government department under Ministry of Housing and Works. It was based in Islamabad, and had sub-offices in all the major cities of the country. History The Public Works Department was establishe ...

through the Commissioner of Karachi. After which under the guidance of Mr. Kafiluddin Ahmed, a senior civil engineer from

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

and Mr. Abdul Rasheed Khan, a senior civil engineer from

West Pakistan West Pakistan was the western province of Pakistan between One Unit, 1955 and Legal Framework Order, 1970, 1970, covering the territory of present-day Pakistan. Its land borders were with Afghanistan, India and Iran, with a maritime border wit ...

and was formally inaugurated in April 1955. the stadium was built which became

's fifth and Pakistan's 11th first-class ground. The inaugural first-class match was played at NSK between

and

on 20–24 April 1955, and it became a fortress of Pakistan cricket. In 34 Tests between that first match and December 2000,

won 17 and were never beaten. They lost their first Test on the ground against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 2000–01. During the 1980s, the stadium also hosted international

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

matches, and was chosen as venue for the 1982 Quaid-e-Azam International Cup. In November 1989,

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 ...

and

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 ...

played their first test match in this stadium. The first ODI at the National Stadium was against

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

on 21 November 1980, and it went down to the last ball as

Gordon Greenidge Sir Cuthbert Gordon Greenidge (born 1 May 1951) is a Barbadian retired cricketer who represented the West Indies in Test and One Day International (ODI) teams for 17 years, as well as Barbados and Hampshire in first-class cricket. Greenidge is r ...

drove

Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi (born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician, philanthropist, and former cricketer who served as the 19th prime minister of Pakistan from August 2018 until April 2022. He was the founder of the political party Pak ...

imperiously to the cover boundary with three needed. It has been a far less successful limited-overs venue, with defeats outnumbering victories. In fact, in a little under five years from the start of 1996,

failed to win on the ground. It also staged a quarter-final match in the 1996 World Cup. A 75 meter long, 44 meter wide screen was installed at the ground in 2007 at a cost of Rs. 7 million. In September 2019, the

named it as one of the venues to host matches in the

2019–20 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy The 2019–20 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy was a first-class domestic cricket competition that took place in Pakistan from 14 September to 31 December 2019. Habib Bank Limited were the defending champions. However, after the new domestic structure was ...

. In October 2022, the

renamed the stadium from National Stadium Karachi to the National Bank Cricket Arena after signing a successful deal with the

(NBP) for 5 years. This was the first naming-rights deal for a stadium in Pakistan. According to the agreement, the NBP will be permitted to utilize the venue's signs and nomenclature outside of the playing area.

Return of international cricket

Chairman Najam Sethi announced in 2017 that Karachi's National Stadium will host the final match of

2018 Pakistan Super League The 2018 Pakistan Super League (also known as PSL 3 or for sponsorship reasons, HBL PSL 2018) was the third season of the Pakistan Super League, a franchise Twenty20 cricket league which was established by the Pakistan Cricket Board in 2015. It ...

on 25 March 2018. The stadium's

dressing rooms A changing room, locker room (usually in a sports, theater, or staff context), or changeroom (regional use) is a room or area designated for changing one's clothes. Changing-rooms are provided in a semi-public situation to enable people to ch ...

and VIP boxes were renovated for the final, along with the pitch and

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In bat and ball games ...

. Around 800

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of closed-circuit television cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signa ...

cameras and several elevators were also installed. Around Rs. 1.5 billion was spent on this renovation, which was being done for the first time since 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 ...

. The historic match, which was played between

Islamabad United Islamabad United () is a Pakistani professional Twenty20 franchise cricket team that competes in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The team is based in Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan, and was formed in 2015 to compete in the first ...

and

Peshawar Zalmi Peshawar Zalmi (; ; literally meaning "Peshawar's youth") is a Pakistani franchise Twenty20 cricket team which plays in the Pakistan Super League and represents Peshawar, the capital city of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The team is owned b ...

, saw the return of international stars to National Stadium after a gap of nine years, ended up being relatively one-sided, as the 2016 champions Islamabad United were crowned champions once again. The match was the first major cricket event since 2009 in the port city and it was highly welcomed by crowds and the stadium witnessed packed house for the big game. In order to make it a successful event, many security forces were deployed in and around the stadium to maintain the law and order situation, by their efforts the event was held successfully. In 2017, PCB Chairman had announced that

would tour Pakistan for 3 match T20I series which were scheduled to be played in Lahore, the fixtures were to be played in November 2017. However, early in November 2017, reports announced that the West Indies team would not be travelling to Pakistan over security concerns. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Najam Sethi stated that the original schedule was changed due to unforeseen weather, logistic issues and challenges with security. In March 2018, the PCB confirmed that the fixtures would take place in April at the National Stadium in Karachi after the conclusion of PSL 2018. The last time an international cricket match was played at the venue in Karachi was in February 2009, when Sri Lanka toured Pakistan. That series was cut short, following a

2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team The 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team occurred on 3 March 2009, when a bus carrying Sri Lankan cricketers, part of a larger convoy, was fired upon by 12 gunmen near Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Pakistan. The cricketers were on th ...

. It was the first tour in Pakistan of more than one match against another Test nation since

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

toured in May 2015.

Sri Lanka vs Pakistan (2019)

In May 2019, at the

Asian Cricket Council The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) is a cricket organization which was established in 1983, to promote and develop the sport of Cricket in Asia. Subordinate to the International Cricket Council, the council is the continent's regional administrati ...

(ACC) meeting in Singapore, the

(PCB) made a request to

Sri Lanka Cricket Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is the governing body for cricket in Sri Lanka. It was first registered with the Sri Lankan Ministry of Sports (Sri Lanka), Ministry of Sports as the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka on 30 June 1975 as a national ...

(SLC) to play the two Test matches in Pakistan. In July 2019, the SLC sent a security expert to assess the situation in Pakistan, with Sri Lanka Cricket saying they were "likely" to play a Test match in the country. A further decision was taken by Sri Lanka after a security delegation inspects venues in

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

and

in early August 2019. The delegation gave Sri Lanka Cricket "very positive feedback", suggesting that Sri Lanka could be open to playing a Test match in Pakistan. On 22 August 2019, Sri Lanka's Sports Minister confirmed their agreement to play a three-match ODI and T20I series in Pakistan in October, but ruled out playing any Test matches. On 23 August, PCB announced dates for the ODI and T20I series. Sri Lanka were to play three match ODI series at National Stadium, starting from 27 September. This was supposed be the first time since 21 January 2009 that an ODI match will be held at National Stadium. But, the first ODI match was abandoned due to heavy rain. It was the first time that an ODI match at the venue had been washed out. As a result, the

(PCB) rescheduled the second ODI match, moving it back one day to 30 September 2019, to allow the ground staff more time to prepare the outfield. As a result, the National Stadium had to wait for few more days to host an ODI match. In October 2019, the PCB proposed hosting the two Test matches in Pakistan, instead of the UAE, at venues in

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...

and

. Sri Lanka Cricket said that they were "very positive" with regards to the progress of playing Test cricket in Pakistan. In November 2019, PCB confirmed the dates and venues for the Test series. National Stadium hosted the second test match, starting from 19 December.

Renovation and upgradation

National Stadium's

, VIP boxes, and pitch, were renovated in 2017 as part of a Rs. 1.5 billion renovation project. This initiative also saw the installation of around 800

CCTV cameras A closed-circuit television camera is a type of surveillance camera that transmits video signals to a specific set of monitors or video recording devices, rather than broadcasting the video over public airwaves. The term "closed-circuit televisi ...

for improved security and several new elevators to ease crowd movement.

2024–25 renovation efforts

In 2024-25 efforts were made to renovate the stadium for the upcoming

2025 ICC Champions Trophy The 2025 ICC Champions Trophy was the ninth edition of the ICC Champions Trophy. It was hosted by Pakistan Cricket Board from 19 February to 9 March 2025 and featured 15 matches held across three venues in Pakistan and one in the United Arab E ...

. These renovations include new LED floodlights, New guardrail for fans, New pavilion building which contains 24 hospitality boxes and increased the capacity of the stadium from 28,000 to 30,000. Along with these new foldable chairs were added to some of the stands. The total cost of these renovations is estimated to be around Rs.3.5 Billion. The stadium was officially inaugurated on February 11, 2025, following extensive renovations in preparation for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. The ceremony was graced by prominent figures, including Sindh Governor

Kamran Tessori Muhammad Kamran Khan Tessori () is a Pakistani politician and businessman, and the Governor of Sindh since October 2022. Tessori is a member of the MQM-P party. Personal life Tessori is an ethnic Muhajir, and belongs to the Tessori family, wh ...

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

Murad Ali Shah Sayyid, Syed Murad Ali Shah (; born 8 November 1962) is a Pakistani politician and structural engineer who is currently serving as the Chief Minister of Sindh province of Pakistan and a member of the Sindh Assembly. It is his third term as Chi ...

, and

(PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi. The event featured live performances by renowned artists

Ali Zafar Ali Zafar (; born 18 May 1980) is a Pakistani singer-songwriter, actor, model, producer, screenwriter and painter. He started out on Pakistani television before becoming a popular musician, later also established a career in Bollywood and h ...

Shafqat Amanat Ali Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan (; ; born 26 February 1965) is a Pakistani pop and classical singer, songwriter, and composer belonging to the Patiala Gharana tradition of music. He was the lead vocalist of the Pakistani pop rock band Fuzön until ...

, and

Sahir Ali Bagga Sahir Ali Bagga is a Pakistani singer, music director and composer from Lahore, who composes music for Lollywood and other independent singers. Recently he has composed music for the Lollywood, Pakistani movie, ''Zinda Bhaag (2013)''. He also ...

, culminating in a spectacular fireworks display and a captivating light show. The public was invited to join the celebrations with free entry, marking a significant milestone in Pakistan's cricketing history.

Records

Test

* Highest team total: 765/6d, by

against

in 2009. * Lowest team total: 80, by

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

against

in 1956. * Highest run chase achieved: 315/9, by Pakistan in 1959. * Highest partnership: 437, by

Mahela Jayawardene Denagamage Praboth Mahela de Silva Jayawardene (; born 27 May 1977) is a Sri Lankan former professional cricketer and captain of the Sri Lanka national cricket team, Sri Lankan national cricket team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest ...

and

Thilan Samaraweera Thilan Thusara Samaraweera (; born 22 September 1976) is a former Sri Lankan international cricketer. Samaraweera played international cricket for Sri Lanka. Known as Sri Lanka's crisis man and for his slow strike rate, He is also nicknamed “Bu ...

against

in 2010.

One Day International

* Highest team total: 374/4, by

against

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, 25 June 2008. * Highest run chase (Won or Loss) 355/4 by

against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, 12 February 2025. * Lowest team total: 115, by

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

against

, 4 July 2008. * Highest run chase achieved: 355/4 by

against

, 12 February 2025. * Highest individual score: 181, by

against

, 13 October 1987. * Highest partnership: 260, by Mohammad Rizwan and

Salman Ali Agha Salman Ali Agha (born 23 November 1993), often erroneously called Agha Salman, is a Pakistani international cricketer who plays for Southern Punjab cricket team (Pakistan), Southern Punjab in domestic matches, and for Islamabad United in the Pak ...

against

, 12 February 2025.

T20 International

* Highest team total: 221/3 by

against

, 23 September 2022. * Lowest team total: 60/9 by

against

, 1 April 2018. * Highest individual score: 110* by

Babar Azam Mohammad Babar Azam (Urdu, ; ; born 15 October 1994) is a Pakistani international cricketer and a former Captain (cricket), captain of the Pakistan national cricket team , national team in all three formats of the game. A right-handed top-orde ...

against

, 22 September 2022. * Highest partnership: 203*, by

and Mohammad Rizwan against

, 22 September 2022.

Cricket World Cup

This stadium hosted six One Day International (ODI) matches during

and

1987 Cricket World Cup

---- ---- ----

1996 Cricket World Cup

---- ----

ICC Champions Trophy

---- ----

Football tournaments

1982 Quaid-e-Azam International Cup

The stadium was the venue for the 1982 Quaid-e-Azam International Cup.

References

External links

ESPNcricinfo ground profile
* ttps://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Grounds/22/1506_o.html List of all ODI matches played at National Stadium, Karachi {{Karachi Kings Test cricket grounds in Pakistan

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 ...

Stadiums in Pakistan

Stadiums in Karachi Cricket grounds in Pakistan 1955 establishments in Pakistan Cricket in Karachi

History

Return of international cricket

Sri Lanka vs Pakistan (2019)

Renovation and upgradation

2024–25 renovation efforts

Records

Test

One Day International

T20 International

Cricket World Cup

1987 Cricket World Cup

1996 Cricket World Cup

ICC Champions Trophy

Football tournaments

1982 Quaid-e-Azam International Cup

See also

References

External links