According to a BCCI source who spoke to PTI, it is customary for the ICC to solicit input from members regarding the schedule, and any changes to the venues must be justified.
At certain venues during the ODI World Cup in India, such as Afghanistan in Chennai and Australia in Bengaluru, the Pakistan cricket team is not “comfortable” playing those opponents.
As a result of the resolution of the Asia Cup staging dispute, Pakistan is now anticipated to visit India for the World Cup in October–November.
India and Pakistan are expected to play in the eagerly anticipated match on October 15 in Ahmedabad.
PCB dissatisfied with two locations for 2023 ODI World Cup matches
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was among the member boards of the International Cricket Council (ICC) that were asked for suggestions on the proposed schedule before the World Cup schedule was made public.
According to a dependable source within the PCB, the task of approving the locations where the 50-over mega event matches for Pakistan have been tentatively scheduled by the ICC and BCCI has been given to the board’s experts in data, analytics, and team strategy.
“The PCB sent the team’s tentative schedule to the selectors/experts who appear to be uncomfortable with some of the scheduled games and locations for the Pakistan team, such as they have concerns about Pakistan playing Afghanistan in Chennai and Australia in Bengaluru,” the source said.
Faced with players like Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad, who excelled for Gujarat Titans in the 2023 Indian Premier League, Afghanistan would have to play in Chennai, a spin-friendly venue.
It is difficult to comprehend why Pakistan would have hesitations playing Australia at the Chinnaswamy Stadium given that Bengaluru’s weather is typically batting-friendly.
The PCB source claimed that because Chennai had historically and statistically been a venue that favored spinners and selectors who are also members of the team management, they had advised the board not to accept it as the site for the game against Afghanistan.
“The suggestion is to ask the ICC/BCCI to reschedule Pakistan’s matches and play Afghanistan in Bengaluru and Australia in Chennai to the team’s strength,” the source asserted.‌
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