The International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) delayed announcing fixtures for the upcoming ODI World Cup. In the last couple of editions of the marquee event, the itineraries were revealed more than a year ago. After the BCCI and ICC finally came up with the schedule for the upcoming edition of the 50-over World Cup, as many as nine fixtures were subsequently changed due to various reasons.
Now, it seems that more changes might be on the cards as Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) has said that the local police won’t be able to provide adequate security for matches scheduled on consecutive days, with one involving Pakistan. On October 9, the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Uppal, Hyderabad is set to host a New Zealand versus Netherlands game. The following day, Pakistan are set to lock horns with Sri Lanka at the same venue. According to The Indian Express, HCA officials were not informed prior to the rescheduling of matches.
It is interesting to note that the Pakistan-Sri Lanka game was originally slated on October 12. However, as the India-Pakistan fixture was shifted to October 14 instead of October 15, the change was made to give Babar Azam’s men sufficient time between the two games.
The highly-anticipated India-Pakistan clash in Ahmedabad was moved to October 14 as the initial October 15 date clashed with the first day of the Navratri festival, which is celebrated spectacularly in Gujarat. Another fixture involving Pakistan, England versus Pakistan on November 12 in Kolkata, was rescheduled to November 11 as the initial date coincided with Kali Puja.
First phase of ticket sales starts on August 25
The tickets will be made available to fans in seven phases to provide a hassle-free experience. On Friday, August 25, tickets to non-India warm-up matches and all non-India event matches will be released. With only a few days left prior to the first phase of ticket sales, it will be interesting to see how BCCI reacts to the problem cited by HCA.
World Cup 2023 will begin with defending champions England taking on finalists from the last edition, New Zealand, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on October 5.
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