"Cricket Stadiums in Pakistan: A Fan's Guide"

Pakistan's three busiest cricket stadiums are Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, the National Bank Stadium in Karachi and Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, and between them they host most international matches and PSL games. Tickets are sold for each series through the PCB's official portal and TCS Express Centres, usually a week or two before the match, and for ordinary fixtures they are cheap: PKR 200 to 1,000 for most enclosures in 2026. The real effort on match day is getting in, because security cordons and road closures mean long walks and early arrivals.

This guide compares the main grounds, explains how tickets and enclosures work, and sets out what match day actually involves, from parking to the gate. Each stadium also has its own detailed guide, linked below.

Which are the main cricket stadiums in Pakistan?

Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore

Gaddafi is the PCB's headquarters and the ground that gets the biggest occasions. It opened in 1959 as Lahore Stadium, took its present name in 1972 and hosted the 1996 World Cup final. A rebuild ahead of the 2025 Champions Trophy replaced the old fencing with a moat, added a new pavilion and LED floodlights, and it was reopened on 7 February 2025. Capacity is given as about 27,000.

It sits in Gulberg, on the edge of the Ferozepur Road, which makes it the easiest of the big three to reach by public transport: the Lahore Metrobus has a Qaddafi Stadium station. Our Gaddafi Stadium guide covers enclosures and parking in detail.

National Bank Stadium, Karachi

Karachi's ground opened in 1955 and holds about 30,000. Its official name since 2022 has been the National Bank Cricket Arena, though most people still call it National Stadium. It was upgraded for the 2025 Champions Trophy with new floodlights, a new pavilion with hospitality boxes and foldable seats, and reinaugurated on 11 February 2025. It is the home of Karachi Kings and Pakistan's Test record here is one of its best at home. See our National Stadium Karachi guide for the Karachi specifics.

Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium

Pindi is the smallest of the three, with about 15,000 seats, and the most atmospheric when full. It opened in 1992, sits near the Rawalpindi Arts Council, about 20 minutes from Islamabad, and is the natural choice for fans from the capital and the north. In December 2019 it staged the first Test in Pakistan since 2009, and was also upgraded for the Champions Trophy. Our Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium guide has enclosure-by-enclosure advice.

The other grounds

Multan Cricket Stadium, off Vehari Road, holds about 30,000 and hosts Tests and Multan Sultans games (see our Multan Cricket Stadium guide). Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad, capacity about 17,000, hosts domestic cricket and the occasional international. Peshawar's Arbab Niaz Stadium has been rebuilt, but read the safety note in our Arbab Niaz Stadium guide before planning around it.

What matches are coming up?

The PCB's home programme for autumn 2026, as announced in August, is a busy one:

1. Pakistan v Sri Lanka T20Is, 9, 11 and 13 October, all in Rawalpindi.
2. ODI tri-series with Sri Lanka and England, 18 to 31 October. The first three games are in Rawalpindi (18, 20 and 22 October), the rest in Lahore, with the final at Gaddafi on 31 October.
3. Two Tests against Sri Lanka, 9 to 13 November in Rawalpindi and 17 to 21 November in Lahore.

The PSL normally runs in spring. In 2026, PSL 11 ran from 26 March to 3 May in Lahore and Karachi only, and most of it was played behind closed doors to save fuel during the Iran war; fans were let back in for the playoffs and the final. Check that season's arrangements before you plan a trip around a league game.

How do you buy tickets?

Tickets are released per series, not sold all year. The pattern for recent series has been the same:

1. The PCB announces prices and sale dates, usually one to two weeks before the first match.
2. Online sale opens first on the official portal, pcb.tcs.com.pk. For the October 2026 T20Is it opened on 3 October, and for the tri-series it opens on 10 October.
3. Physical tickets follow a few days later at designated TCS Express Centres in the host cities.

Buy only through these channels. Tickets offered on social media or outside the gate are the usual cause of trouble on match day, and big fixtures such as PSL finals sell out: the PSL 11 final at Gaddafi was sold out before the day.

How much do tickets cost?

Prices are set per series and per match, so treat these as recent examples, not a price list. They change every season.

Two patterns hold. Test matches are by far the cheapest way to see international cricket, and a final costs several times a league game. Enclosures are named after former players and grouped as General, First Class, Premium, VIP and VVIP or gallery, with covered seating and better views as the price rises. For a family, First Class or Premium is usually the sensible middle: less crowded than General and a fraction of the box prices.

What is match day like?

Expect security to shape the whole day. Pakistan's grounds are policed heavily, and for the PSL 11 final Lahore deployed more than 7,000 police around Gaddafi. In practice that means:

• Road closures. Roads around the ground close for team movements. In Rawalpindi, Murree Road between Faizabad and Double Road and Stadium Road have been shut on match days.
• Remote parking and shuttles. You park away from the ground and walk or take a shuttle. Rawalpindi has used the Civil Aviation ground at Shaheen Chowk, Shahbaz Sharif Park and the Government Graduate College in Satellite Town, with shuttles to the stadium. Karachi used the National Coaching Centre and China Ground for the 2026 qualifier, with Red Buses and electric buses on extra routes. In Lahore, the PSL final used parking at Government College for Boys, CBD Parking and Main Boulevard Gulberg near Liberty.
• Several layers of checks. Bags are searched more than once. Bring your CNIC, keep what you carry to a minimum, and check the PCB's announcement for banned items, because the list varies by event.
• Long walks. From parking to your seat can take 30 minutes or more on a busy night. Older relatives and small children feel this most.

We would plan to arrive two to three hours before the first ball for an international or a playoff, eat beforehand, and agree a meeting point outside the ground in case phones struggle in the crowd.

Is it safe to go to a match?

Pakistani fans attend matches in Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi in large numbers, and the security operation is the main reason the grounds have stayed open to crowds. Incidents do affect cricket: in May 2025 a drone landed inside the Rawalpindi stadium complex during the India and Pakistan strikes, and the PSL was suspended; it resumed in Pakistan after the ceasefire, with the final at Gaddafi on 25 May 2025. Follow local news and police advice in the days before a match.

Visitors from abroad should read their own government's advice. The UK currently advises against all travel to Peshawar, though not to Lahore, Karachi or Rawalpindi, and travelling against such advice can void travel insurance.

Is it worth planning a trip around a match?

For a cricket fan, yes, especially an international or a Test, where tickets are cheap and the crowds are passionate but manageable. A Rawalpindi game pairs easily with a few days in Islamabad and the hills, and a Lahore match with the Walled City and its food. Our experiences page has more ideas for building a trip around Pakistan's culture.

It suits groups of friends and families with older children best. It suits less well anyone who cannot manage long walks and queues, or who wants a fixed timetable, because road closures make arrival times hard to predict. If that is you, a Test day in a quieter enclosure is the gentlest way in.

Frequently asked questions