The ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023 schedule was announced on Tuesday by the ICC. Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium will be the host for the tournament’s opening ceremony on October 5. While Kolkata and Mumbai will be hosting the semi-finals. This time, 10 venues will be hosting the World Cup matches, making it the biggest ICC event in history. Apart from the mentioned cities, the other seven include Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Dharamshala, Hyderabad, Lucknow, and Pune.
Some Major cities left out for World Cup
Usually the World Cup matches are hosted by metro cities, but the distribution is also made region-wise. Despite being an ICC event, the suggestions of the local organizing committee, i.e., the BCCI, are often preferred. While some of the big venues have been included for the 2023 World Cup, some major cities have been left out, like Mohali, Indore, Rajkot, Ranchi, and Nagpur, and the authorities of these venues are disappointed.
Khandekar expressed disappointment
Indore’s Holkar Stadium has regularly hosted International games in all formats. Recently, they hosted a test in the Border-Gavaskar test series. However, Indore is not included in the World Cup’s schedule, which left Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association President Abhilas Khandekar disappointed. In an interview, he said “ We feel disappointed that Indore has been kept out this year. I don’t know the BCCI’s compulsions”.
Mohali not given a single game this year
Another prominent venue that was missed out in the World Cup was Mohali, which hosted the epic semi-final match between India and Pakistan in the 2011 edition. A source from the Punjab Cricket Association stated, “Mohali has been hosting World Cup matches since 1996. It seems that only metro cities have gotten the games this time. We tried hard for it but couldn’t get a single game. Not even getting a practice match is disappointing.
Punjab’s Sports Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer believes that Keeping Mohali out of the tournament was largely a political decision. He said, “Mohali hosted many big matches and used to be one of the top venues of the country but it didn’t get a single match to stage this time. On the other hand, Narendra Modi Stadium is staging the opening and final game and the big game between India and Pakistan too. Dharamshala also got five matches, but Punjab didn’t get even one. It is clear that politics is being played.
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