The BCCI, perhaps the richest cricket board in the world is reportedly leaving no stone unturned as they prepare to host the ICC ODI World Cup 2023, which will be played only in India for the first time.

India previously hosted the ICC mega event in 1987 with Pakistan as a co-host, in 1996 with Sri Lanka and Pakistan as co-hosts, and in 2011 with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh as co-hosts. But will be the solo host of the tournament for the first time.

The ODI World Cup 2023 begins on October 5 and as per a report, the BCCI has shortlisted 12 venues to host the 48 games of the tournament in 46 days.

These venues are Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Dharamsala, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Indore, Rajkot, Mumbai, and Ahmedabad, which is slated to host the final on November 19.

As part of the preparations for the upcoming world event, the BCCI hired a firm to conduct a GAP survey at all venues and the results suggested that atleast five of the stadiums needed modernization and renovation.

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One of those venues is the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, which became a point of contention as fans vented their ire over the lack of clean toilets and other facilities at the venue during the recent Test between India and Australia.

Apart from Delhi, the other venues shortlisted for renovation are Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, the PCA Stadium in Mohali, the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad, and the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

The Wankhede in Mumbai had undergone renovation before the India-Australia ODIs last month after a fan complained of poor sanitary conditions at the famous stadium.

Meanwhile, the estimated costs of the renovations will run into hundreds of crores. The report suggested that it will cost Rs 100 crore to revamp the Delhi stadium, Rs 117.17 crore for Hyderabad, Rs 127.47 crore for the iconic Eden Gardens at Kolkata, Rs 79.46 crore for PCA stadium in Mohali and Rs 78.82 crore for Wankhede.

(PTI report)