 National Bank Stadium in 2025 | |
 | |
| Address | Karachi Pakistan |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 24°53′46″N67°4′53″E / 24.89611°N 67.08139°E /24.89611; 67.08139 |
| Public transit |  National Stadium |
| Owner | Pakistan Cricket Board |
| Operator | Pakistan Cricket Board |
| Capacity | 30,000[1] |
| Construction | |
| Renovated | May 26, 2025; 4 days' time (2025-05-26) |
| Ground information | |
| Location | Karachi,Sindh,Pakistan |
| Establishment | April 21, 1955; 70 years ago (1955-04-21) |
| Tenants | Pakistan national cricket team Karachi Kings |
| International information | |
| First Test | 26 February–1 March 1955: Pakistan v India |
| Last Test | 2–6 January 2023: Pakistan v New Zealand |
| First ODI | 21 November 1980: Pakistan v West Indies |
| Last ODI | 1 March 2025: South Africa v England |
| First T20I | 20 April 2008: Pakistan v Bangladesh |
| Last T20I | 25 September 2022: Pakistan v England |
| Only women's Test | 15–18 March 2004: Pakistan v West Indies |
| First WODI | 9 April 2001: Pakistan v Netherlands |
| Last WODI | 23 April 2024: Pakistan v West Indies |
| First WT20I | 1 September 2023: Pakistan v South Africa |
| Last WT20I | 3 May 2024: Pakistan v West Indies |
| As of 3 May 2024 Source:ESPNcricinfo | |
TheNational Stadium, also known asNational Bank Stadium forsponsorship reasons, is an internationalcricket ground inKarachi,Sindh,Pakistan,Previously British India owned by thePakistan Cricket Board. It is the home ground of theKarachi Kings franchise inPakistan Super League and otherdomestic 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, theNational Bank of Pakistan and thePCB agreed to a five-year naming-rights agreement, and the stadium was renamed as National Bank Cricket Arena.[2][3]
ThePakistan cricket team have a remarkableTest record at the ground and is known as the fortress of Pakistan cricket.[4] The stadium has witnessed several memorable moments, such asViv Richards 181 againstSri Lanka at the1987 Cricket World Cup,Mohammad Yousuf's record ninth century of the year to breakViv Richards' record of most runs in a calendar year, andKamran Akmal's famous century againstIndia on a very difficultpitch in 2006, afterPakistan had collapsed to 39 for 6, in a memorable come-from-behind victory.[5]
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 theKarachi Gymkhana which had limited seating capacity.[6] A plan was formulated to develop a new stadium for which a plot of land measuring 174.5 acres was acquired by thePakistan Public Works Department through the Commissioner of Karachi.[6] After which under the guidance of Mr. Kafiluddin Ahmed, a senior civil engineer fromEast Pakistan and Mr. Abdul Rasheed Khan, a senior civil engineer fromWest Pakistan and was formally inaugurated in April 1955. the stadium was built which becameKarachi's fifth and Pakistan's 11th first-class ground.[6]
The inaugural first-class match was played at NSK betweenPakistan andIndia on 20–24 April 1955, and it became a fortress of Pakistan cricket.[7] In 34 Tests between that first match and December 2000,Pakistan won 17 and were never beaten. They lost their first Test on the ground againstEngland in 2000–01.[8][9]
During the 1980s, the stadium also hosted internationalfootball matches, and was chosen as venue for the1982 Quaid-e-Azam International Cup.[10][11][12]
In November 1989,Sachin Tendulkar andWaqar Younis played their first test match in this stadium.[13]
The first ODI at the National Stadium was againstWest Indies on 21 November 1980, and it went down to the last ball asGordon Greenidge droveImran Khan 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,Pakistan failed to win on the ground. It also staged a quarter-final match in the1996 World Cup.
A 75 meter long, 44 meter wide screen was installed at the ground in 2007 at a cost of Rs. 7 million.[14][15]
In September 2019, thePakistan Cricket Board named it as one of the venues to host matches in the2019–20 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.[16]
In October 2022, thePakistan Cricket Board renamed the stadium from National Stadium Karachi to the National Bank Cricket Arena after signing a successful deal with theNational Bank of Pakistan (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.[3]
PCB ChairmanNajam Sethi announced in 2017 that Karachi's National Stadium will host the final match of2018 Pakistan Super League on 25 March 2018.[17] The stadium'sdressing rooms and VIP boxes were renovated for the final, along with thepitch andoutfield. Around 800CCTV cameras and several elevators were also installed.[18] Around Rs. 1.5 billion was spent on this renovation, which was being done for the first time since the1996 Cricket World Cup.[19]
The historic match, which was played betweenIslamabad United andPeshawar Zalmi, saw the return of international stars to National Stadium after a gap of nine years, ended up being relatively one-sided, as the2016 champions Islamabad United were crowned champions once again.[20] 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 thatWest Indies 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 thefixtures 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, whenSri Lanka toured Pakistan. That series was cut short, following a2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team.[21]
It was the first tour in Pakistan of more than one match against another Test nation sinceZimbabwetoured in May 2015.[22]
In May 2019, at theAsian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting in Singapore, thePakistan Cricket Board (PCB) made a request toSri Lanka Cricket (SLC) to play the two Test matches in Pakistan.[23] In July 2019, the SLC sent a security expert to assess the situation in Pakistan,[24] with Sri Lanka Cricket saying they were "likely" to play a Test match in the country.[25] A further decision was taken by Sri Lanka after a security delegation inspects venues inLahore andKarachi in early August 2019.[26][27] The delegation gave Sri Lanka Cricket "very positive feedback", suggesting that Sri Lanka could be open to playing a Test match in Pakistan.[28] 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.[29][30] 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.[31] This was supposed be the first time since21 January 2009 that an ODI match will be held at National Stadium. But, the first ODI match was abandoned due to heavy rain.[32] It was the first time that an ODI match at the venue had been washed out.[33] As a result, thePakistan Cricket Board (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.[34]
In October 2019, the PCB proposed hosting the two Test matches in Pakistan, instead of the UAE, at venues inRawalpindi andKarachi.[35] Sri Lanka Cricket said that they were "very positive" with regards to the progress of playing Test cricket in Pakistan.[36] In November 2019, PCB confirmed the dates and venues for the Test series. National Stadium hosted the second test match, starting from 19 December.[37]
National Stadium'sdressing rooms, 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 800CCTV cameras for improved security and several new elevators to ease crowd movement.
In 2024-25 efforts were made to renovate the stadium for the upcoming2025 ICC Champions Trophy. These renovations include newLED floodlights, Newguardrail 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.[38]
The stadium was officially inaugurated on February 11, 2025, following extensive renovations in preparation for theICC Champions Trophy 2025. The ceremony was graced by prominent figures, includingSindh GovernorKamran Tessori,Chief MinisterMurad Ali Shah, andPakistan Cricket Board (PCB) ChairmanMohsin Naqvi. The event featured live performances by renowned artistsAli Zafar,Shafqat Amanat Ali, andSahir Ali Bagga, 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.[39][40]
This stadium hosted six One Day International (ODI) matches during1987 Cricket World Cup and1996 Cricket World Cup.
29 February Scorecard |
v | ||
South Africa won by 5 wickets Umpires:K.T. Francis andSteve Bucknor Player of the match:Hansie Cronje (SA) |
3 March Scorecard |
v | ||
Pakistan won by 7 wickets Umpires:B.C. Cooray andSrinivas Venkataraghavan Player of the match:Aamer Sohail (Pak) |
v | ||
New Zealand won by 60 runs Umpires:Richard Kettleborough (Eng) andSharfuddoula (Ban) Player of the match:Tom Latham (NZ) |
v | ||
South Africa won by 107 runs Umpires:Sharfuddoula (Ban) andAlex Wharf (Eng) Player of the match:Ryan Rickelton (SA) |
v | ||
South Africa won by 7 wickets National Stadium,Karachi Umpires:Ahsan Raza (Pak) andRod Tucker (Aus) Player of the match:Marco Jansen (SA) |
The stadium was the venue for the1982 Quaid-e-Azam International Cup.[10][11][12]
| Date | Team #1 | Res. | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 February 1982 | Pakistan Greens | 2–0 |  Nepal | Group stage | N/A |
| 13 February 1982 | Pakistan Blues | 2–1 |  Oman | Group stage | N/A |
| 14 February 1982 | Pakistan Blues | 1–1 | Nepal | Group stage | N/A |
| 14 February 1982 | Oman | 0–0 |  Shandong | Group stage | N/A |
| 15 February 1982 | Pakistan Blues | 2–1 | Bangladesh | Group stage | N/A |
| 15 February 1982 |  Iran | 0–0 | Shandong | Group stage | N/A |
| 16 February 1982 | Iran | 1–0 | Pakistan Greens | Group stage | N/A |
| 16 February 1982 | Nepal | 1–1 | Bangladesh | Group stage | N/A |
| 17 February 1982 | Oman | 1–0 | Nepal | Group stage | N/A |
| 17 February 1982 | Pakistan Blues | 2–1 | Shandong | Group stage | N/A |
| 18 February 1982 | Iran | 4–1 | Pakistan Blues | Group stage | N/A |
| 18 February 1982 | Pakistan Greens | 2–1 | Bangladesh | Group stage | N/A |
| 19 February 1982 | Shandong | 0–1 | Nepal | Group stage | N/A |
| 19 February 1982 | Oman | 3–1 | Bangladesh | Group stage | N/A |
| 20 February 1982 | Iran | 4–0 | Nepal | Group stage | N/A |
| 20 February 1982 | Pakistan Greens | 1–4 | Shandong | Group stage | N/A |
| 21 February 1982 | Iran | 4–0 | Oman | Group stage | N/A |
| 22 February 1982 | Shandong | 0–0 | Bangladesh | Group stage | N/A |
| 23 February 1982 | Pakistan Blues | 0–0 | Pakistan Greens | Group stage | N/A |
| 23 February 1982 | Iran | 9–0 | Bangladesh | Group stage | N/A |
| 24 February 1982 | Pakistan Greens | 0–0 | Oman | Group stage | N/A |
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