Days after the ICC and BCCI announced a revised schedule for the upcoming ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, the Indian board has reportedly received a request from Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) to tweak the schedule once again.
The HCA, which is scheduled to stage three World Cup 2023 games, has expressed apprehensions about providing adequate security as the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium is set to host two consecutive matches.
The stadium will play host to the New Zealand versus Netherlands clash on October 9 while Pakistan will take on Sri Lanka at the same venue a day later. Apparently, HCA has alerted the BCCI about the potential challenges in providing adequate security for two crucial encounters.
Amid the recent development, BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla has stated that any further alterations to the World Cup schedule are improbable.
"I am in charge of the Hyderabad venue for WC. If there will be any issue or anything, I will try to get it resolved. It is not easy to change the World Cup schedule and it's unlikely to happen. Only BCCI can't change the schedule, teams, ICC, all involved," Shukla quoted as saying by TOI.
Earlier this month, the ICC and BCCI revised the World Cup schedule. This led to India’s high-voltage clash with Pakistan being pushed from October 15 to October 14 in Ahmedabad. Besides, eight other games were rescheduled to a different day.
According to the report, the HCA has also expressed concerns about the feasibility of all four participating teams obtaining sufficient practice at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
As per the current schedule, Sri Lanka are due to arrive in Hyderabad on October 8 while the Kiwis are set to land in the city on October 9. On the other hand, Pakistan and Netherlands will open their World Cup campaigns in Hyderabad on October 6 and return for their second group match.