The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has dismissed speculations that the ICC Champions Trophy will be shifted out of the country due to delayed construction work at three venues that will host the showpiece tournament, slated to be held from February 19 to March 9.

The stadiums in Pakistan staging the matches are Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium and Karachi's National Bank Stadium, while India’s fixtures will be played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

According to a PTI report, the presence of a large International Cricket Council (ICC) delegation, including broadcast, hospitality and event operations officials, is a vindication that the marquee event is on schedule in Pakistan.

"The PCB has spent nearly PKR 12 billion to upgrade our stadiums to make them fitting for an event like the Champions Trophy, which was awarded to us," a PCB source quoted as saying by PTI.

The source also stated that an earlier statement about the stadium's work progress was also given out because of speculation in the media that the competition would be moved out because of incomplete work at the venues.

"We gave the statement because our media also started flashing such speculative news without checking the facts. This would have caused chaos and confusion amongst the PCB, ICC, government, commercial partners and fans affecting the ticketing and marketing of the event," he said.

The official added that a local reporter had recorded the construction work in Karachi’s National Stadium without consent and presented a negative picture.

"The stadium's work is being monitored closely by the PCB and concerned officials and they would be ready to host the CT matches on time," he said.

(With PTI Inputs)