The International Cricket Council on Tuesday (June 27) unveiled the schedule for the ODI World Cup 2023, slated to be held in India.
The showpiece tournament will kick-off on October 5 with the England versus New Zealand clash at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The 50-over World Cup will be played in a round-robin format, where all 10 teams will play each other before the top four sides will qualify for the semi-finals.
The first semi-final will be held in Mumbai on November 15 and the second semi-final will take place in Kolkata the following day. The final is scheduled for November 19 in Ahmedabad.
Apart from Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Kolkata, there are seven other venues finalised for the quadrennial event, including Hyderabad, Dharamsala, Delhi, Chennai, Lucknow, Pune and Bengaluru.
However, some of the renowned cricket centres like Mohali, Indore, Rajkot, Ranchi and Nagpur missed out on the chance of hosting a World Cup match.
While metro cities are preferred for the World Cup games, the matches are allocated zone wise as well and, in some cases, personal preferences come into play.
“It seems only metros and cities where the office bearers are from have got games. We pushed for it really hard but could not get a game. Disappointing not to get even a practice game,” said a source in the Punjab Cricket Association, as quoted by PTI.
Notably, the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali staged the 2011 World Cup semi-final between India and Pakistan. The venue also played host to the 1996 World Cup semi-final between Australia and West Indies.
Punjab Sports Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer alleged that leaving out Mohali from the World Cup venues was a political decision.
“It is good that World Cup is coming to India but it is sad that a stadium which has produced many superstars of Indian cricket, a stadium that used to be among the top five venues in the country, has not got a single game.
“On the other hand, the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad is hosting the opening game as well as the final and also the big game between India and Pakistan.
“To the neighbouring Dharamsala as well you are giving them five games but Punjab has not got even one. That makes it clear that politics is being played,” he said.
Indore’s Holkar Stadium is another well-known missed out on a World Cup fixture and Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association President, Abhilash Khandekar, was left disappointed by it.
“Indore hosted a World Cup game between Australia and New Zealand back in 1987. We feel bad that Indore has been left out. I don’t know the compulsions of the BCCI. Indore has a rich cricketing history and therefore we expected it to be a venue of the World Cup," Khandekar told PTI.
A total of 10 teams will participate in the 50-over World Cup, with eight already qualified for the mega event – including the host India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, England, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
The race for the remaining two spots is currently going on in Zimbabwe in the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup Qualifiers. Apart from hosts Zimbabwe and former champions Sri Lanka and West Indies, the Qualifiers also feature Ireland, Nepal, Netherlands, Oman, Scotland, UAE and USA.
(With PTI Inputs)
