Back الملعب الوطني (كراتشي) Arabic জাতীয় স্টেডিয়াম, করাচি Bengali/Bangla National Stadium (Karatschi) German Estadio Nacional de Pakistán Spanish नेशनल स्टेडियम, कराची Hindi ನ್ಯಾಷನಲ್ ಕ್ರೀಡಾಂಗಣ, ಕರಾಚಿ Kannada നാഷണൽ സ്റ്റേഡിയം (കറാച്ചി) Malayalam राष्ट्रीय स्टेडियम, कराची Marathi نیشنل اسٹیڈیم، کراچی PNB نيشنل اسٽيڊيم، ڪراچي Sindhi
| NSK, NBCA | |
 The stadium on a match-day in February 2020 | |
| Ground information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Karachi-75300, Sindh, Pakistan |
| Coordinates | 24°53′46″N 67°4′53″E / 24.89611°N 67.08139°E |
| Establishment | 21 April 1955 |
| Capacity | 34,238[1] |
| Owner | Pakistan Cricket Board |
| Operator | Sindh Cricket Association |
| Tenants | Pakistan national cricket team Sindh cricket team Karachi Kings |
| End names | |
| Pavilion End University Road End | |
| 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 | 7 May 2023: Pakistan v New Zealand |
| 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 | |
The National Stadium (Urdu: نیشنل اسٹیڈیم; Sindhi: نیشنل اسٽيڊيم), now known as National Bank Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a cricket stadium in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan, owned by the Pakistan Cricket Board.[2] It is the home ground of the Karachi Kings franchise in Pakistan Super League and of many other domestic cricket teams in Sindh.[3] It is the largest cricket stadium in Pakistan with a capacity to accommodate 34,000 spectators.[4] It was built in the early 1950s under the supervision of senior civil engineer Mr. Abdul Rasheed Khan (WP) and Mr. Kafiluddin (EP), and was formally inaugurated in April 1955. In October 2022, the National Bank of Pakistan and the PCB agreed to a five-year naming-rights agreement, and the Stadium got its new title, National Bank Cricket Arena.[5][6]
The Pakistan cricket team have a remarkable Test record at the ground, having lost only twice in 45 Test matches[7] (vs. England, December 2000–01, and South Africa, October 2007–08).[8] The stadium has witnessed several memorable moments, such as Viv Richards 181 against Sri Lanka at the 1987 Cricket World Cup, Mohammad Yousuf's record ninth century of the year to break Viv Richards' record of most runs in a calendar year, and Kamran Akmal's famous century against India on a very difficult pitch in 2006, after Pakistan had collapsed to 39 for 6, in a memorable come-from-behind victory.[9]
- ^ "World Stadiums - Stadiums in Pakistan". www.worldstadiums.com. Archived from the original on 25 September 2011. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
- ^ "PCB team to visit Bugti Stadium next week". Pakistan Cricket Board. 10 January 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
- ^ "PSL 2020 Live Streaming, Schedule, Results, & Highlights Videos". PSL 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
- ^ "Football stadiums of the world – Stadiums in Asia. Football stadiums of the world". www.fussballtempel.net (in German). Retrieved 23 February 2018.
- ^ "PCB renames National Stadium Karachi under 5-year MoU". 25 October 2022.
- ^ "National Stadium in Karachi to be renamed National Bank Cricket Arena". ESPNcricinfo.
- ^ Paracha, Nadeem F. (10 March 2017). "Stadium stories: Famous Pakistan cricket grounds". Dawn. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
- ^ "Team records. Test matches. ESPNcricinfo". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
- ^ "Full Scorecard of Pakistan vs India 3rd Test 2005/06 - Score Report". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 September 2022.