KARACHI: It will be a race against time as renovation work at the National Stadium Karachi (NSK) was gearing up for holding Pakistan Super League (PSL) early next year.

The country’s premier Test centre is without international activity since 2009 when it staged the first Test against Sri Lanka — which is famously remembered for Younis Khan’s epic knock of 313.

Despite the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore on March 3, 2009 most of the international matches were organised at the Gaddafi Stadium, including ODI and T20 series against Zimbabwe, last year’s PSL final, T20 series against World XI and a T20 against Sri Lanka last month.

Pressure was building up on the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) after Karachi was overlooked for staging international matches. Finally, PCB chairman Najam Sethi, during a press conference here a couple of weeks ago, announced that the NSK would be hosting two to four PSL matches and the final of the third edition.

Holders Peshawar Zalmi, two-time runners-up Quetta Gladiators, 2016 champions Islamabad United, Karachi Kings, Lahore Qalandars and new franchise Multan Sultan will compete in the 2018 tournament which is likely to start from the middle of February and end with the final on March 23.

Overall 34 matches will be staged with 10 of them in Pakistan, including six in Lahore and four in Karachi, according to report.

The National Logistics Cell (NLC) engineering department has been assigned the task to complete the first phase of the renovation work to ensure the stadium is ready for PSL matches.

The PCB had allocated a hefty budget of Rs1.50 billion for the upgrading of the stadium to NLC with NESPAK as its consultant. The contractual work has to be completed within a year.

Project Manager NLC Engineering retired Wing Commander Mohammad Sohaib said, “We are determined and eager to complete the task of the first phase within the allocated time.”

A visit to the NSK shows that all 22 public bathrooms with eight to 10 toilets in the main block have already been dismantled while the roofs of VIP stands, including Hanif Mohammad and Javed Miandad enclosures, have already been removed.

Installation of 30 new hospitality boxes with attached bathrooms located technically on the fourth floor is also part of the first phase with the installation of a modern lift for these boxes.

Chairman boxes having a capacity of around 100 signatories, teams’ dressing rooms, umpires rooms, referee room, physiotherapy room, and broadcasters and media boxes will also be renovated.

The entrance of the stadium will be improved and both the roads leading to it will be carpeted.

Parking facilities for around 500 to 600 vehicles is also being set up.

The 33,000-capacity stadium last staged a major international event when the Asia Cup was played in 2008. Title-winners Sri Lanka along with India, Pakistan and Bangladesh played their matches here.

Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2017