New Delhi: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has officially released the schedule for the eagerly awaited 2023 Men's ODI Cricket World Cup. Cricket lovers worldwide may now mark their calendars because there are only 100 days until the competition begins. On October 5, the tournament will begin at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium, and on November 19, the championship game is scheduled. On November 15 in Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium and on November 16 in Kolkata, the semifinals will take place.
With matches being held at 10 venues, this World Cup will be the biggest in ICC history. The other seven cities that will host the matches are Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy, Chennai's Chepuk, Delhi's Arun Jaitely Stadium, Dharamsala's HPCA stadium, Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Lucknow's BRSABV Ekana Stadium, and Pune's MCA stadium. These venues join Narendra Modi Stadium, Wankhede Stadium, and Kolkata's Eden Garden as the venues. Even while hosting World Cup games in major cities is expected, the distribution also takes into account geographic regions and recommendations from the local organising committee, in this instance the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), as well as other factors.
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Despite the inclusion of several notable locations, some significant cities will not be hosting World Cup games. Officials from Mohali, Indore, Rajkot, Ranchi, and Nagpur have expressed disappointment over their cities' exclusion. The Holkar Stadium in Indore, which has frequently hosted international games, most recently hosting a Test match in the Border-Gavaskar Test Series, had high hopes of hosting a World Cup match. The Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association's president, Abhilash Khandekar, expressed disappointment over the exclusion.
“Indore hosted a World Cup game between Australia and New Zealand back in 1987. We feel bad that Indore has been left out. I don’t know the compulsions of the BCCI. Indore has a rich cricketing history and therefore we expected it to be a venue of the World Cup,” Khandekar said.
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Another significant location that was overlooked is Mohali, which played host to the incredibly memorable semi-final match between India and Pakistan at the 2011 World Cup.In the opinion of Punjab Sports Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer the exclusion of Mohali, , appeared to be influenced by politics.
“It is good that World Cup is coming to India but it is sad that a stadium which has produced many superstars of Indian cricket, a stadium that used to be among the top five venues in the country, has not got a single game. On the other hand, the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad is hosting the opening game as well as the final and also the big game between India and Pakistan. To the neighbouring Dharamsala as well you are giving them five games but Punjab has not got even one. That makes it clear that politics is being played,” he said.
Congressman Shashi Tharoor voiced the disappointment that Thiruvananthapuram's SportsHub was left off the list while pointing out the rise of Ahmedabad as the nation's cricket centre.
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This year's ICC World Cup 2023 schedule release was delayed as a result of Pakistan's concerns over travelling to India for the competition. Pakistan's request for a change of venues was denied by the BCCI, and the Pakistan Cricket Board is currently through a leadership transition.
Cricket fans are counting down the days before the 2023 Men's ODI Cricket World Cup and are anticipating the enthralling matches that will take place at India's renowned venues.
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