2023 ODI World Cup schedule to be announced during WTC final

In its Special Annual General Meeting in Ahmedabad on Saturday, it was decided that the office-bearers will be entrusted to set up the working committee for the ICC tournament, which will be played in India between October and November.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma during a Test match. (File Photo) | Photo Credit: R. V. Moorthy

The schedule for the ODI World Cup is expected to be announced on the sidelines of the World Test Championship final next month, while the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will formalise the working group for the tournament over the next few weeks.

In its Special Annual General Meeting in Ahmedabad on Saturday, it was decided that the office-bearers will be entrusted to set up the working committee for the ICC tournament, which will be played in India between October and November.

Contrary to speculations that the schedule will be released soon after the IPL final, the BCCI secretary Jay Shah confirmed that the final schedule will be released sometime during the WTC final which will be attended by the BCCI bigwigs and the ICC top brass.

“The venues for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 will be decided at a press conference during the ICC World Test Championship Final. The complete schedule for the tournament will also be revealed,” Shah said.

Since it was not part of the five-point agenda, there were no discussions on the venues for the World Cup, but the state units were informed that with surplus revenue from the IPL, the Board plans to invest more in terms of developing infrastructure.

“As far as the venues for the World Cup are concerned, each office-bearer will be responsible for each venue. We are looking at all the metros as venues for the tournament,” Shah said.

With just about four months remaining for the tournament, Grant Thorton will work at a fast pace to upgrade the 15 stadiums that have been earmarked for the World Cup. While work has started in some of the centres like Lucknow, where the square will be relaid, other centres will also get into the groove once the IPL gets over.

S&C coaches for state units

To avoid the load on the NCA, there were demands from several state units for a streamlining in terms of appointing strength and conditioning coaches and trainers and the Board will have an ‘umbrella wing’ that will ensure that state teams will have to follow a particular criteria in terms of appointing the S&C coaches.

“To address injury concerns of players, we have created a structure where every state association will appoint a Strength and Conditioning coach and a Sport Science and Sports Medicine team. The candidates will be interviewed by the NCA panel,” Shah said.

A state unit member, who attended the meeting, said that the Board will set up a body, which will look after this process and will liaison with the state units in developing the structure. “This will reduce the load on the NCA and also help the state units in setting up their own facility in terms of S&C and trainers,” the member said.

Shelar, Saikia to finalise POSH committee

With the presence of two legal professionals - joint secretary Devajit Saikia and treasurer Ashish Shelar - the Board will work with its own legal team to finalise the revamped POSH committee, which has not been quite active in the recent past.

“Since both Saikia and Shelar are senior legal professionals, their advice will help. So, they will work in tandem with the legal team and set up a committee,” a source said, indicating that names have been shortlisted and will be finalised soon.

Next WPL before March 2024

The office-bearers have also been entrusted to look into setting up a specific committee for the Women’s Premier League. In the inaugural edition, Arun Dhumal-led IPL governing council took charge of the WPL, but going forward, the Board plans to set up a separate committee for the women’s tournament. The office-bearers will discuss the formalities and take a call soon. “A committee will be formed to decide the World Cup and the Women’s Premier League. Information of these committees will be out in the next week,” Shah said.

The secretary also informed that the Board will have a discussion with the broadcaster and decide a window for the next edition of the WPL. “We will be looking at a window for organizing the next edition of the Women’s Premier League before March 2024,” he said.