"BCCI and State Cricket Associations are embarrassing India on a global stage" - Twitter reacts to HCA's request for change in World Cup 2023 schedule
Cricket fans were irked by the mismanagement of the World Cup 2023 schedule after the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) requested the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to further tweak the revised schedule, where the state association is set to host fixtures on consecutive days.
The Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Uppal is scheduled to host New Zealand vs Netherlands on October 9 and Pakistan vs Sri Lanka on October 10. The latter fixture was initially scheduled on October 12 but was later moved a couple of days earlier as one of the nine changes in the revised schedule.
Reports have suggested that Hyderabad Police has expressed concerns over providing security for back-to-back games, particularly for the Pakistan one. The HCA also finds it challenging to accommodate practice sessions for all four teams.
HCA’s letter to the BCCI for a change in the schedule comes just five days before the first lot of World Cup tickets go for sale on August 25.
Fans questioned the BCCI and the International Cricket Council over the World Cup schedule rejig. Let’s take a look at some of the reactions after HCA asked for changes in the back-to-back fixtures.
Hyderabad Cricket Association becomes 3rd state association to ask for World Cup schedule changes amid festival season
The Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) and Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) have also requested the BCCI to change the World Cup 2023 schedule. The police forces of Ahmedabad and Kolkata have expressed concerns over providing security for certain matches because of festivals like Navratri and Durga Puja fervently celebrated in those cities.
The marquee clash between India and Pakistan was moved from October 15 to October 14. Three of Pakistan's initial World Cup fixtures were changed while England and Bangladesh had two changes each.
The schedule for the 2023 World Cup was announced just 100 days before the start of the quadrennial event, whereas the schedule for the previous two editions - Australia and New Zealand (2015) and England and Wales (2019) - was revealed a year in advance.