Karachi's National Stadium renamed National Bank Cricket Arena

The National Stadium located in Karachi, Pakistan has been officially renamed the National Bank Cricket Arena owing to sponsorship reasons after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)  signed a naming rights deal for a period of five years with the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) - a commercial bank owned by the government. 

According to reports in ESPNcricinfo, the Karachi stadium has been leased out by the federal government for a contract period of 99 years since 1980 and it is currently the country's largest stadium with a seating capacity of 32,000. At the same time, this is also officially the first-ever naming rights deal for a Pakistan-based stadium.

We are delighted to partner with the Pakistan Cricket Board: NBP President & CEO Rehmat Ali Hasnie

"We are delighted to partner with the Pakistan Cricket Board," NBP President & CEO Rehmat Ali Hasnie said in a statement as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

"The National Stadium, Karachi is one of the most iconic cricket venues in the world and has hosted some of the legends of all eras since Test cricket was first played there," the statement added.

"We are honoured to associate with such an incredible cricket venue, our endeavour during the next five years would be to help the PCB further uplift the venue while making contributions to Pakistan cricket across the country at the grass root level simultaneously," the statement further read.

The National Stadium in Karachi has hosted many memorable encounters in the last few decades including some matches of the 1996 World Cup which was co-hosted by India, Pakistan, and the eventual champions Sri Lanka.

The venue also witnessed a high-scoring thriller on March 13, 2004 between arch-rivals India and Pakistan where the Men in Blue came out on top by five runs to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

Batting first, the Indian team posted a mammoth 349/7 courtesy of an impactful 99 from Rahul Dravid. In reply, the then Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq scored a valiant 122 runs off 102 balls. However, a tight final over from Ashish Nehra meant that it was a case of 'so near yet so far' for the Men in Green.