The schedule of the Cricket World Cup 2023 was announced yesterday. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) tried its best to manoeuvre their matches out of India or have them at certain venues. PCB failed in doing so as their request for a change of venues was rejected by the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Pakistan will be coming to India for the World Cup later this year.
Pakistan’s request
The PCB had requested to play their matches in only cities which are Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata. Former PCB Chairman Najam Sethi had said that they will not play any of their games in Ahmedabad unless it is a knock-out match. The marquee India vs Pakistan clash will take place in Ahmedabad on the 15th of October. The ICC rejected PCB’s request of not playing in Ahmedabad considering the revenue an India vs Pakistan match brings to the table. Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad is the largest stadium in the world in terms of seating capacity. It was a no-brainer for ICC to have possibly the biggest group stage match at the iconic stadium.
In the T20 World Cup in Australia as well the ICC scheduled the clash between the two nations at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) which is the second largest stadium in the world after Narendra Modi Stadium in terms of seating capacity. Former PCB Chief Sethi even said that they will wait for the government’s decision on whether to play in Ahmedabad or not.
India has defeated Pakistan seven times in the Cricket World Cup while the Men in Green are still searching for a win in the World Cup. The last time when the World Cup was in India in 2011, the two sides clashed in the semi-final which saw India defeat their neighbours and qualify for the finals where they beat Sri Lanka to win the World Cup after 28 years.
Change of venues
After the draft schedule of the Cricket World Cup 2023 was released the PCB requested ICC for a swap of venues for their matches against Australia and Afghanistan. Their request for a swap of venues was also declined as in the schedule they are still playing Afghanistan in Chennai and Australia in Bengaluru.
Why did the PCB request a swap of venues?
PCB analysts had proposed changing the location of their matches against Australia and Afghanistan. They don’t want to face Afghanistan in Chennai because they think the pitch is in Afghanistan’s favour. The Chennai Chepauk stadium is renowned for its help to spinners. Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman and Noor Ahmad make up the Afghanistan team’s exceptionally talented spin trio. The PCB believes that playing Afghanistan in the Chepauk stadium will put the Babar Azam-led team at a disadvantage.
Australia and Pakistan will square off in Bengaluru. Short boundaries at Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium are renowned for helping players with strong hitting skills. PCB believes that the Australian batters will be in a more favourable position while playing in Bengaluru.
It will be interesting how Pakistan’s matches against Afghanistan and Australia unfold.
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