Pakistan has suffered a body blow before the CT when in-form opener Saim Ayub was ruled out for 10-weeks after an ankle injury sustained while fielding in the second Test against South Africa in Capetown last month.

Pakistan’s CT squad was strongly criticised by some former players and experts for not having more than one specialist opener and for picking just one specialist spinner - Abrar Ahmed.

Glenn Phillips warmed up for the Champions Trophy with his first one-day international century as New Zealand beat Pakistan by 78 runs in the opening game of the tri-nation cricket series on Saturday.

Pakistan will showcase its newly upgraded stadium at Lahore when it takes on New Zealand in the opening game Saturday of a tri-series cricket tournament, which also involves an understrength South Africa.

The unveiling comes days after news reports emerged expressing concern over stadium renovations set to miss several deadlines.

Pakistan opened a renovated stadium for the Champions Trophy in Lahore on Friday, one of three to be used in its first major international cricket event in almost 30 years. The eight-team Champions Trophy will be staged from February 19 to March 9 in Lahore,