International standard floodlights will be installed at Lahore City Cricket Association ground to develop a new culture of night cricket in the city.
“Night cricket has become quite popular and people like to watch it at their leisure time and that is the reason we are in the process to equip the arena with latest lights to start a new era of night cricket in Lahore,”said President, LCCA, Khawaja Nadim Ahmed here on Tuesday. He said Karachi is the only city of Pakistan which is having three to four grounds where night cricket is being played and it has been observed that a large gathering turns up whenever a night cricket matches is organized. “Our aim is to develop cricket and to equip LCCA grounds with lights is a part of our endeavor to introduce a new culture of night cricket for clubs and re-creational cricket including T-20 matches during summer and Ramadan.”
LCCA chief said he floated the idea of lights at a meeting with the former prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif who liked it and asked him to discuss it with the Punjab Chief Minister, Mohammad Shahbaz Sharif, a keen lover of sports .
“Punjab Government is financing this project and we have having regular meetings on it with Hamza Shahbaz Sharif who is taking extra ordinary interest to help out LCCA on this project and we are thankful to all of them for patronizing Lahore’s cricket to provide a night cricket facility for the players as well as lovers of the game ,”said Khawaja Nadim himself a former first club cricketer. He said the Punjab Government will be providing Rs thirty million for the installation of the lights and LCCA has shortlisted the most suitable international firm for executing the project .
“Hopefully the lights will be installed within two months and we can start night cricket in December this year ,”he said adding “ We will evolve a system to provide ground to our clubs and our teams to get much needed practice of night cricket which will help them to perform up to a required standard whenever they play cricket under lights “. Kh Nadim disclosed that Pakistan Cricket Board will be providing financial assistance to build a new pavilion at the LCCA ground erasing the existing building . “
“The present regime of LCCA is determined to make LCCA ground, an international standard facility where state of the art cricket facilities are available under one roof and we have taken a number of decisions to revamp Lahore’s cricket and to make LCCA a role model regional cricket body,” he concluded
