Iqbal Stadium (), formerly known as Lyallpur Stadium, is a

Test cricket Test cricket is a Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form. Often referred to as the "ultimate test" of a cricketer's skill, endurance, and temperament, it is a format of i ...

ground in

Faisalabad Faisalabad, formerly known as Lyallpur, is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, second-largest city and primary List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, industrial center of the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. Constructed in the 1970s, it has hosted 24 Tests and 16

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so far. The venue has also been a key site for Pakistan's domestic cricket tournaments, such as the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. It has a capacity of 17,000 people.

History

Iqbal Stadium was established in the early 1970s to accommodate the growing popularity of cricket in Faisalabad. Originally known as Lyallpur Stadium, it was renamed Iqbal Stadium in honor of Pakistan's national poet,

Muhammad Iqbal Muhammad Iqbal (9 November 187721 April 1938) was a South Asian Islamic philosopher, poet and politician. Quote: "In Persian, ... he published six volumes of mainly long poems between 1915 and 1936, ... more or less complete works on philoso ...

. The stadium quickly became one of Pakistan's most important cricketing venues, hosting its first Test match in October 1978 between

and

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. A modern and well-equipped cricket venue, it has suffered at the hands of weather conditions in the past. In 1998–99, the third Test against

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was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to fog. Poor visibility has also caused difficulty in playing especially during the winter. Since its inception, Iqbal Stadium has witnessed several historic cricketing moments, including famous Test matches involving Pakistan and international teams. An thrilling Test match was played between

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and Pakistan in 1997–98, when the visitors bowled out the hosts for 92 runs, successfully defending a target of 142 on the final day. Then, in the 2004–05 season, Sanath Jayasuriya of

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

scored 253 as his team romped to a 201-run victory. The ground is, however, most renowned for the on-field spat between

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captain Mike Gatting and Pakistani umpire Shakoor Rana during England's 1987–88 tour. While being the square-leg umpire, Rana had objected to Gatting waving his hand at another fielder while the bowler was running in. An fierce altercation followed, which led to a day being lost during the match and some long-lasting bad feeling between the teams. The issue forced the British Ambassador Sir Nicholas Barrington to get involved in order to de-escalate the situation and force an apology from the England captain. The stadium regularly hosted international matches until 2009, when all international cricket activities were suspended in Pakistan after 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team. The stadium, however, continued hosting domestic matches.

Domestic tournaments

The stadium hosted the

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and

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editions of the Super 8 Twenty20 Cup. In 2016, four new cricket pitches were added to take the total cricket pitches to nine. In September 2019, the

Pakistan Cricket Board The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), formerly known as Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan (BCCP), is a sports governing body for cricket in Pakistan responsible for controlling and organising all tours and matches undertaken by the Pakistan ...

named it as one of the venues for matches in the 2019–20 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. The stadium hosted the finals of the National T20 Cup in

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and

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In August 2024, it was announced that the stadium would host all the matches of newly formulated domestic 2024–25 Champions One-Day Cup.

Return on international cricket

In September 2024, the Pakistan Cricket Board revealed plans to upgrade the stadium to enable international matches to be hosted there. On April 30 2025, it was announced that international cricket will return to Iqbal Stadium after a gap of 17 years, with

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

touring Pakistan in May 2025. Iqbal Stadium will be hosting the first two T20Is on 25 May and 27 May respectively. Iqbal Stadium Faisalabad

Ground records

*First Test: 1st Test,

vs.

, 16–21 October 1978. *First ODI: Pakistan vs.

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, 23 November 1984.

Tests

*Highest innings total: 674/6 by Pakistan vs. India, October 1984. *Lowest innings total: 53 all out by

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

vs. Pakistan, October 1986. *Highest individual score: 253 by

Sanath Jayasuriya Deshabandu Sanath Teran Jayasuriya (, ; born 30 June 1969), is a former Sri Lankan cricketer, captain, cricket administrator and coach. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest all rounders ever to play in ODI cricket. A left arm orthodox sp ...

for

vs. Pakistan, October 2004. *Best bowling figures (match): 12/130 (7/76 & 5/54) by Waqar Younis for Pakistan vs. New Zealand, October 1990.

One-day internationals

*Highest innings total: 314/7 (50 overs) by Pakistan vs. New Zealand, December 2003. *Highest individual score: 108 by Mohammad Yousuf for Pakistan vs. New Zealand, January 2008. *Best bowling figures: 4/27 (4 overs) by Mudassar Nazar for Pakistan vs. New Zealand, November 1984.

References

External links

ESPNcricinfo Website – Ground Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iqbal Stadium (Faisalabad) Faisalabad District Test cricket grounds in Pakistan Faisalabad Stadiums in Pakistan Cricket grounds in Pakistan Cricket in Faisalabad Memorials to Muhammad Iqbal