The International Cricket Council on Tuesday (June 27) unveiled fixtures for the Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, which will be played across 46 days in 10 venues later this year in India.
The quadrennial event will get underway on October 5 with 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, Hyderabad, Dharamsala, Delhi, Chennai, Lucknow, Pune and Bengaluru have been finalized as venues for the showpiece tournament.
Meanwhile, Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor has said that Thiruvananthapuram, Mohali and Ranchi should have been given an opportunity to stage a World Cup match while also adding that it is a big mistake on the part of BCCI.
"It's a long tournament. They could have spread the joy a little better. Thiruvananthapuram, Mohali and Ranchi should have been given an opportunity to hold a World Cup match. It is not necessary for any one venue to get 4-5 matches. This is a big mistake on the part of BCCI," Tharoor said.
However, a BCCI source responded to Tharoor’s remark, saying that there can only be 10 venues for the tournament and they can’t just focus on the south region as Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai are being selected as the venues.
"There are matches in the south like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai - total have to be 10 venues so can't concentrate everything in south," news agency ANI quoted a BCCI source as saying.
The source further said that if Tharoor is keen to have matches in Kerala then he should try to get the stadium under the control of the state association as it is currently under IL&FS's control.
"If Tharoor is so keen to get a match in Kerela - can he first get the stadium under the control of the state association? Why is it under the control of ILFS and why should BCCI take the headache of getting extra permissions?," the BCCI source stated.
"In other countries - there are only a total of 6-7 venues but ICC allowed us more because we are a big country so we can't make everyone happy," he added.
A total of 10 teams will participate in the ODI 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 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 ANI Inputs)
