![Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore is wet after rain [Source: Screengrabs]](https://onecricketnews.akamaized.net/parth-editor/oc-dashboard/news-images-prod/1774969443492_GaddafiStadiuminLahoreiswetafterrain.jpg?type=hq)
Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore is wet after rain [Source: Screengrabs]
The rain gods haven't been very kind to the PSL 2026 cricket match between Peshawar Zalmi and Islamabad United. The match, which was set to begin from 7:30 pm IST on March 31 at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, faced a massive delay because of a downpour.
However, the real highlight was not the delay due to the rainfall, but the drainage system of the Gaddafi Stadium, which boasts international standards and has also hosted many international matches over the years.
Heavy Rainfall Threatens Peshawar vs Islamabad PSL 2026 Match
Since 6 PM IST on match day, the weather has been inclement, with the rain gods hovering over the stadium and adding to the intensity. As time passed, heavy rain lashed the venue and, as a result, the ground staff and the rain cover arrangements suffered heavily.
For the unaware, the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore underwent a massive 7.7 billion PKR renovation in early 2025.
The overhaul was completed in 117 days to host the Champions Trophy, featuring capacity expansion and structural changes, including the removal of old high steel fences and replacing them with a modern dry moat to improve spectator visibility.
There were new LED floodlights and new digital display screens. However, it seems like the drainage system has suffered the most, with no upgradation at all.
Also Read- Mohsin Naqvi's PCB Bans Fakhar Zaman From PSL 2026
Gaddafi Stadium Drainage System Bashed After Heavy Downpour
As the heavy downpour continued at the stadium for the Peshawar Zalmi vs Islamabad United match, puddles formed all across the ground and the square, which was covered with sheets and water-resistant covers.
The situation worsened as heavy winds and storms blew away the pitch covers from time to time, with groundsmen struggling to keep them in place.
Some visuals from the PSL ground displayed alarming imagery where big puddles of water, even ankle-deep, formed near the boundary lines, which might take more than one or two hours to completely clear and make the pitch and outfield dry and ready.
At around 7:45 pm IST, as the rain reduced slightly, match officials visited the ground to assess whether the match could still take place.
Netizens Roast Poor Drainage
However, that will depend on how efficient the drainage system of Gaddafi Stadium is and how well the groundsmen can work to dry out the field.
But netizens roasted the poor facilities in Lahore, bashing the Pakistan Cricket Board for such poor management and infrastructure despite a total revamp of the Lahore stadium in early 2025.
How Stadiums Across The World Battle Rainfall
While Gaddafi Stadium struggled with the rainfall, modern and high-tech stadiums use vacuum drainage and permeable structural layers to clear rainwater up to 36 times faster than traditional gravity-based systems, which is likely not the case in Lahore.
The subsurface vacuum drainage system, most famously used at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium and the Narendra Modi Stadium, allows powerful vacuum fans to connect to an underground network of perforated pipes to create negative pressure and suck water through the soil profile, draining over 10,000 litres per minute.
In fact, the physical makeup of the grounds are also engineered for high permeability, where sand-based profiles are used instead of traditional clay or soil. Products like geofabric cloth and geodrainage pipes are used to prevent soil erosion while aiding drainage.
All of these high-tech innovations are already a part of the majority of stadiums across the world.
PSL 2026 Match Nears Abandonment
However, with large pools of water across the field at Gaddafi, the seventh PSL 2026 match is now threatened with cancellation.
If the match is abandoned, both Peshawar Zalmi and Islamabad United will get one point each, with Zalmi currently placed fourth on the points table and Islamabad United second from the bottom.
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