
The ICC ODI World Cup 2023 edition is keenly awaited. Every team is preparing hard for the marquee event which will be held in India entirely. As per a report, the 50-over marquee tournament is set to kick off in early October and will end by mid-November.
As per a report in ESPNCricinfo, the 2023 ODI WC will commence onOctober 05 whereas the finale will be held on November 19 at the iconic Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium, Ahmedabad. The same report also suggested that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the host of the ten-team tournament, has finalised as many as a dozen venues for the showpiece event.
Apart from Ahmedabad, the shortlisted cities areBengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Dharamsala, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Indore, Rajkot, and Mumbai. It is to be noted that the tournament will be held in the round-robin stage, just like the 2019 edition, and willconsist of48 matches including three knockouts across a 46-day period.
Why the delay from BCCI?
The BCCI has not specified venues for any games as of now, nor the two or three cities where thewarm-up encounters will take place. It is learned that the delay in finalising the venues has been due to the threat posed by the monsoon season receding at different points across the nation.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) usuallyshares the World Cup schedules, at least, a year in the run-up to the event. However, much to the surprise of cricket fans worldwide, it hasn't been the case this time around. The wait has been prolonged as the Indian cricket board isyet toget the necessary clearance from thegovernment.
The BCCI needs to get a tax exemption for hosting the megatournament, and also acquire visa clearance for Team Pakistan. The Asian giants have not played a bilateral series in India since early 2013 and their last visit to their neighbouring country was during the 2016 T20 World Cup in India.