Major controversy erupts over World Cup 2023 venues: What is it all about?
The International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday, June 27, confirmed the venues for ODI World Cup 2023. As per the official schedule, 48 matches will be played across 10 venues in India from October 5 to November 19.
The ICC event will kick off with a rematch of the 2019 final between defending champions England and runners-up New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The same venue will also host the marquee clash between India and Pakistan on October 15 as well as the grand finale.
The other nine venues finalized for World Cup 2023 are Hyderabad, Dharamsala, Delhi, Chennai, Lucknow, Pune, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Kolkata.
The last two mentioned cities will host the semi-finals of the tournament on November 15 and 16, respectively.
Are major cricket centres disappointed at being snubbed for World Cup 2023?
According to a report in news agency PTI, major cricket centers in India are disappointed at not getting a chance to host any of the World Cup 2023 matches.
Indore, Mohali, Rajkot and Nagpur are among the venues that have been somewhat surprisingly left out. Notably, Mohali hosted the 2011 ODI World Cup semi-final between India and Pakistan.
Punjab Sports Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer alleged politics was behind leaving out Mohali as one of the venues.
He told ANI:
“It is good that World Cup is coming to India but it is sad that a stadium which has produced many superstars of Indian cricket, a stadium that used to be among the top five venues in the country, has not got a single game. On the other hand, the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad is hosting the opening game as well as the final and also the big game between India and Pakistan.
“To the neighbouring Dharamsala as well you are giving them five games but Punjab has not got even one. That makes it clear that politics is being played,” he claimed.
Punjab Sports Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer condemns the exclusion of Mohali from the list of cities to host the ICC Cricket World Cup-2023
"The exclusion of Punjab's Mohali from the list of host cities for the tournament was due to political interference. Punjab government… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… https://t.co/R7RVCejMfE
He added that the Punjab government will raise this issue with the BCCI.
Further, a source in the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) alleged preferential treatment over allotment of venues.
He told PTI:
“It seems only metros and cities where the office bearers are from have got games. We pushed for it really hard but could not get a game. Disappointing not to get even a practice game.”
Indore’s Holkar Stadium hosted the third Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in March this year. The venues is among India’s renowned ones.
Reacting to the World Cup 2023 snub, a dejected Abhilash Khandekar, president of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association, told PTI:
“Indore hosted a World Cup game between Australia and New Zealand back in 1987. We feel bad that Indore has been left out. I don’t know the compulsions of the BCCI. Indore has a rich cricketing history and therefore we expected it to be a venue of the World Cup.”
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The announcement of the ICC World Cup 2023 schedule was delayed since Pakistan were reportedly unhappy with the draft schedule shared with them.
However, no changes have been made to the final itinerary that was released on Tuesday.
“No discrimination” - BCCI responds to controversy over allocation of venues for World Cup 2023
The BCCI has refuted allegations of bias and politics in allocating venues for the ICC World Cup 2023.
Speaking on behalf of the cricket board, BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla asserted that the 10 venues were finalized after due consideration, analyzing all the important aspects.
Regarding Mohali not getting a single game, Shukla told Mirror Now:
"All bilateral matches will be given to Mohali, there will be no discrimination. 100th Test match of Virat Kohli had been given to Mohali. Their Mullanpur stadium is getting ready and said to be finished. Had Mullanpur been ready, they would have definitely hosted the World Cup, but Mohali was not meeting the standard fixed by ICC. That's why it has been denied.”
Terming the allocation of venues for World Cup 2023 as fair, he further pointed out that it’s the ICC and not the BCCI that takes the final call on the matter.
Shukla commented:
“Everybody has pondered over it [schedule] and new venues have been added. Lucknow and Guwahati have been given a chance. UP never got a chance to host a World Cup ever before. A lot many venues from South has been added. They have given a fair amount of consideration before finalising the venues.
"Secondly, you should always keep in mind (that) ICC has to approve all those venues. It's not probably in BCCI's hands. All those who are alleging objections should realise that we need the consent of ICC also while picking up these venues," the BCCI vice-president concluded.
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Meanwhile, according to reports, Thiruvananthapuram’s Greenfield Stadium will host four warm-up matches between September 29 and October 3.
Guwahati and Hyderabad are likely to be the other venues that will host World Cup 2023 practice matches.