PCB to Take Over Hyderabad's Niaz Stadium for 20 Years and Rebuild It

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is taking over the running of Niaz Stadium in Hyderabad for 20 years. The Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (HMC) said the agreement would be signed on Tuesday 6 October 2026. The city keeps ownership, and the PCB gets control of the ground and the job of rebuilding it.

That matters because Hyderabad has had no top-level cricket for years. Niaz Stadium last staged a men's one-day international in January 2008. It has not hosted a first-class match since the city took it back from the board in 2018, according to the HMC's own account of the deal.

We checked the PCB's press release page at about 1:30pm PKT on 6 October. It had not yet posted anything on Niaz Stadium. So everything below is what the HMC and its mayor have said, as reported on 5 and 6 October. Two of the money terms are reported differently, and we show both.

The PCB gets Niaz Stadium for 20 years under the new agreement

Under the memorandum of understanding (MoU), a written agreement between two bodies, the PCB gets exclusive use, possession, management and control of Niaz Stadium for 20 years. The Hyderabad Municipal Corporation stays the owner of the land and the ground.

The board will also hold the commercial and broadcasting rights at the venue. That means the PCB, not the city, sells the advertising and the TV rights for matches played there. Before the handover, the two sides are to carry out a joint survey of the stadium's condition and list everything on the premises.

The HMC mayor, Kashif Ali Shoro, said the deal was being finalised on Monday 5 October. A PCB team led by its chief operating officer, Sumair Ahmed Syed, was expected in Hyderabad for the signing, as reported.

Reports differ on the rent and the gate money share

Two terms are not settled in public. One account says the PCB pays Rs 10,000 a month and the HMC gets 20 per cent of gate ticket money. Another says Rs 10,000 a year as a token rent and 25 per cent of gate receipts from national and international cricket.

The HMC has not published the MoU text, so we cannot say which version is right. Either way, the rent is a token sum. Rs 10,000 a month comes to Rs 120,000 a year, or Rs 2.4 million over 20 years. Rs 10,000 a year comes to Rs 200,000 over the whole deal.

The real value to the city is the rebuilding and the gate share. A full house at a ground of about 15,000 seats can earn far more on one match day than the rent earns in a year. That only happens if matches actually come back.

The PCB must rebuild the ground to international standard

The agreement makes the PCB responsible for renovation, upgrading and new construction at Niaz Stadium. The aim is a venue that can host international matches, first-class cricket and Pakistan Super League (PSL) games. No budget or completion date has been announced.

We would treat any date you see shared online with care. The board has not given one, and the HMC has not either. The work also starts from a low base. The ground has been under city control since 2018, and an earlier PCB arrangement did not deliver the upgrades it promised.

Here is the order of events the HMC and its mayor have described for this deal:

1. 29 November 2025: a PCB domestic cricket official visits Niaz Stadium and says the board is interested in taking it over.
2. 15 January 2026: the PCB's chief operating officer writes to the HMC mayor.
3. February 2026: Hyderabad Kingsmen join the PSL as its seventh team, and the franchise is launched at the stadium.
4. 5 October 2026: the mayor says the MoU is being finalised.
5. 6 October 2026: the HMC says the MoU will be signed.
6. Next: a joint condition survey and handover, then the PCB's rebuilding work.

Hyderabad Kingsmen give the deal a real purpose

Hyderabad now has a PSL team, Hyderabad Kingsmen, but no stadium fit to host its matches. A rebuilt Niaz Stadium is the obvious home ground. That is the clearest reason the deal has moved now, after years of talk.

For now, top cricket in Pakistan stays at Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi and the other main venues. The ODI tri-series with England and Sri Lanka later this month and the Sri Lanka T20Is in Rawalpindi are the next home matches. None of them are in Hyderabad, and none could be at short notice.

The mayor told reporters that Niaz Stadium is the only international ground in Sindh outside Karachi. People in the city are attached to it, he said, and he hoped the board would build it to the level of other international venues.

Niaz Stadium has a big past and a long gap

Niaz Stadium dates from 1959, holds about 15,000 people and first hosted first-class cricket in 1962. It staged its first Test against England in 1973 and a 1987 World Cup match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Pakistan never lost a Test or ODI there.

The PCB ran the ground for about 11 years before. Then on 2 April 2018 the Qasimabad Municipal Committee cancelled that MoU and took control. The man who headed the committee then is the same man signing the new deal now, Mayor Shoro.

Fans who want to watch live cricket this month still need to travel. The Sri Lanka T20I tickets start at Rs 200, and the matches are in Rawalpindi.

Common questions

Who owns Niaz Stadium now?

The Hyderabad Municipal Corporation still owns it. The PCB gets control and management for 20 years, as the HMC has described the deal.

How long is the PCB agreement for Niaz Stadium?

20 years, under an MoU the HMC said would be signed on 6 October 2026.

How much rent will the PCB pay for Niaz Stadium?

Rs 10,000, but reports differ on whether that is per month or per year. The MoU has not been published.

Will PSL matches be played in Hyderabad?

That is the aim of the rebuilding, but no PSL match has been scheduled there and no completion date has been given.

When did Niaz Stadium last host international cricket?

Its last men's ODI was Pakistan against Zimbabwe in January 2008.

How we verified this

What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.

Last checked at about 1:30pm PKT on 6 October 2026. The terms of the agreement are as the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation and its mayor described them, as reported on 5 and 6 October. We could not read the MoU itself, which has not been published, and the PCB had not posted a statement on its press release page when we checked. The rent and gate share are given in both reported versions. The 20 year rent totals are our own arithmetic. We will update this page if the PCB publishes the signed terms.