There were undoubtedly some notable venues that were passed over because 10 locations in total have been chosen for the ICC World Cup in 2023.
With 100 days until the tournament’s start, the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday released the eagerly anticipated schedule for the 2023 Men’s ODI Cricket World Cup.
On October 5 and November 19, respectively, the tournament’s opening and closing ceremonies will take place at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium.
While the semifinal matches will be held in Mumbai and Kolkata on November 15 and 16, respectively.
The World Cup matches will be played in a total of 10 venues, making it the largest ICC event in history
In addition to the seven cities already mentioned, there are also Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Dharamsala, Hyderabad, Lucknow, and Pune.
Most frequently, World Cup matches are held in metro areas, but there is also a zone-based distribution.
While some notable venues have been added for the 2023 World Cup, notable cities such as Mohali, Indore, Rajkot, Ranchi, and Nagpur have been left out, disappointing the officials of these venues.
International contests in all formats have been held at Indore’s Holkar Stadium frequently. It had most recently hosted a Test as part of the Border-Gavaskar Test series.
Abhilash Khandekar, president of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association, however, expressed disappointment at missing a World Cup game.
“In 1987, Indore served as the site of an Australia-New Zealand World Cup match. Our disappointment at Indore’s exclusion is deep.”
“The BCCI has requirements that I am unaware of. Since Indore has a long history of cricket, we anticipated it would host the World Cup”, Khandekar told PTI.
Mohali hosted the thrilling semifinal match between Pakistan and India in the 2011 tournament. It was another significant venue that was denied a World Cup match.
In reality, it has been hosting World Cup games since that year.
“It appears that only major cities and those from which the office holders hail have games. Even after making a lot of effort, we were unable to secure a game.”
“It’s disappointing that we didn’t even get a practice game”, according to a Punjab Cricket Association source.
In fact, Mohali’s exclusion from the match was deemed to be a highly political choice by Punjab Sports Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer.
“It’s great that the World Cup is coming to India, but it’s sad that a stadium that has given birth to many Indian cricketer legends and was once among the top five venues in the country has not hosted a single game.”
“On the other hand, the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad is the site of the first game, the championship game, and the crucial match between India and Pakistan.”
“You also give Dharamsala, a neighboring city, five games, but Punjab does not receive even one. That proves that politics is being played”, he said.
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