The BCCI is expected to make a slight tweak to the ICC World Cup 2023 schedule as it looks for alternate dates for the big-ticket India vs. Pakistan clash.
The two arch-rivals are set to clash on October 15 at the largest cricket stadium in the world, the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, after the ICC event gets underway on October 5 at the same venue with a match between New Zealand and England.
However, as per a Cricbuzz report, the Ahmedabad police have expressed their inability to provide security for the India-Pakistan game as it coincides with the first day of the sacred Navaratri festival, which begins on October 15.
Hence, the BCCI is exploring preponing the match to October 14, but there is a catch. With Pakistan playing a game against Sri Lanka in Hyderabad just two days earlier, on October 12, it may not be possible for the Men in Green to play the high-voltage game 48 hours later.
Also, there are two matches scheduled on October 14 as New Zealand takes on Bangladesh in Chennai in a day game, while England and Afghanistan clash in a day-night encounter in New Delhi.
Adding a third encounter and that too the India-Pakistan clash might not be beneficial for the broadcasters and also might cause logistical and operational nightmares for the organizers.
As BCCI seeks a solution, no official communication has been made to the International Cricket Council (ICC) or the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
It seems like just preponing the India-Pakistan match might not solve the problem, but it might complicate the schedule and this is the problem BCCI is wrestling with. It is expected that some sort of solution may be hammered out at the meeting of the hosting associations, scheduled for Thursday, in New Delhi.
(Cricbuzz report)
