Twelve venues, including two only for warm-up matches, have been finalised for the 2023 Men’s ODI World Cup, scheduled to begin in less than four months.
Despite BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) secretary Jay Shah having stated last month that the official fixtures of the World Cup will be revealed during the World Test Championship (WTC), Sportstar understands that due to logistical issues yet to be sorted out, the BCCI’s, the International Cricket Council (ICC) hasn’t been able to announce the schedule.
However, according to the draft schedule, the tournament will have 10 main venues, including three in the southern zone. Of the main 10 venues, only Hyderabad will also host warm-up games, with Thiruvananthapuram and Guwahati scheduled to stage only warm-up games.
Except Hyderabad, India is likely to play a game at each of the other nine venues. Rohit Sharma’s men are set to begin their quest to regain the World Cup in Chennai on October 8 against Australia.
Chennai is also set to be awarded a semifinal, with the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai being the other semifinal venue. The designated venues for the semifinals will also have a back-up option, considering the political opposition of letting Pakistan play in Mumbai.
Besides hosting the final, the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad is expected to host the tournament-opener between the last edition’s finalists England and New Zealand and the marquee clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan.
With time running out for fans across the globe to make travel arrangements, the fixtures are likely to be officially announced later this week.
Asia Cup venue update
Pakistan and Sri Lanka are set to co-host the Asia Cup jointly in September, with the BCCI agreeing for the proposal. While Pakistan will play three or four games on its home soil, all the other games, including the final, will be played in Sri Lanka. The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) is set to announce the fixtures mid-week.
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