LAHORE: In the last week of October, Gaddafi Stadium will stage four one-day internationals in seven days, including a final. England and Sri Lanka are both coming. For a city that lost international cricket for years, that is a statement in itself, and Lahore’s administration has begun making sure nothing spoils it.
Commissioner Lahore Noman Yousaf chaired a meeting to review the civic and security arrangements for the Lahore leg of the tri-series. Deputy Commissioner Captain (retd) Ali Ejaz, Chief Traffic Officer Syed Abdul Rahim Sherazi, Additional Commissioner Bilal Hassan, officials of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and every department concerned took part.
“An international cricket event is about to begin in Pakistan,” the commissioner told the meeting.
What the city is putting in place
Police and the district administration briefed the meeting on the layers of security planned around the teams and the ground. Safe City cameras and extra special cameras will watch the routes and the stadium around the clock.
Two control rooms will run during the matches, one for the district administration and one for the police, both with live monitoring. A focal person from each department will sit in the control room so that decisions do not wait on phone calls.
Parking sites for spectators have been chosen, and the commissioner asked for them to be properly managed. Sanitation workers of the Lahore Waste Management Company will stay on duty throughout, and food safety teams will be deployed.
He also ordered that the electricity supply must not fail during play, with a backup source kept ready. All arrangements are to be finalised in line with the security protocol and the standard operating procedures.
Seven matches, two cities
The tri-series opens in Rawalpindi, where Pakistan meet Sri Lanka on October 18 and England on October 20, before Sri Lanka and England play each other on October 22.
Then it moves to Lahore. Pakistan face England on October 25 and Sri Lanka on October 27. Sri Lanka and England meet again on October 29, and the top two sides contest the final on Saturday, October 31.
The visitors are sending strong sides
England have not treated this as a minor trip. Harry Brook leads a 16-man squad that includes Joe Root, Adil Rashid, Ben Duckett and Sam Curran. Jos Buttler is injured and Jofra Archer is being rested, but it is still a serious group. National selector Marcus North called it a valuable chance to test the squad against quality opposition in different conditions. With the 2027 World Cup a year away, both touring teams want hard matches, and they have come to Pakistan to get them.
Sri Lanka arrive under Kusal Mendis, also with 16 players. They play three T20 internationals against Pakistan in Rawalpindi first.
Pakistan will be led by Shaheen Shah Afridi. His squad has Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan, along with two young wicketkeepers, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori and Saad Baig. It is a side rebuilt since the summer, when changes followed the defeat at Lord’s. A home tri-series against two good teams is the right place for it to grow.
Why this week means more in Lahore
Lahore remembers March 2009, when gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan team’s bus on its way to this same stadium. International cricket left Pakistan after that day, and the national side played its home matches abroad for years.
The road back was slow and it was earned. Zimbabwe came to Lahore in 2015. Sri Lanka, the team that had been attacked, returned to the city in 2017. England toured in 2022 after a gap of 17 years. Last year Pakistan hosted the Champions Trophy, with Gaddafi Stadium, newly rebuilt, among the venues.
Now the same ground is being trusted with a final between international sides, and nobody thinks it unusual. That is the real measure of how far Pakistan has come. In August the ICC also withdrew a demerit point it had given the stadium, after the PCB appealed.
Hosting well is its own kind of victory. Every smooth match day makes the next tour easier to win, and brings closer the day when a full home season is simply normal. The cameras, control rooms and backup power discussed this week are how that reputation is protected.
The cricket begins in Rawalpindi on October 18. Lahore’s turn comes a week later, and the city intends to be ready.
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