Kolkata: Ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, which will be held in India in its entirety for the first time ever, representatives from the International Cricket Council (ICC) and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) visited Kolkata to inspect the iconic Eden Gardens stadium, which will host some high profile matches in the tournament.
On October 28, Eden Gardens will host a match between Netherlands and Bangladesh. Later on October 31, they will host another Bangladesh fixture against Asian rivals Pakistan. On November 5, the stadium will host Team India in a match against South Africa. A week later on November 12, a match between England and Pakistan will take place at the iconic stadium. The second semifinal of the tournament will take place at Eden Gardens on November 16.
Notably, BCCI secretary Jay Shah said on July 27 that the schedule of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 will see some changes. ‘There is a small gap in some matches. There is a two-day gap between the two matches. After the match is over, players will travel the next day and they will get no time for practice. Minor changes happen in the World Cup schedule, especially in India, when you look back at history’, Jay Shah said while addressing a press conference.
“We are trying that there are fewer changes in matches and venues, especially the venues. Also, two to three nations have requested changes in schedule. ICC and BCCI logistics teams are working on this and everything will be clear in two to four days. We could see some changes,” he said.
As per the original schedule release in June, the opening match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, featuring defending champions England and runner-up New Zealand, is set to commence on October 5 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Ten teams will feature in this biggest Cricket World Cup ever, to be played across 10 venues from October 5 to November 19, with the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad hosting the tournament opener and the final. The event will feature 48 matches to be played across 46 days. India’s World Cup campaign will begin with a match against Australia on October 8 in Chennai. The venues other than Ahmedabad and Chennai are Bengaluru, Delhi, Dharamsala, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai and Pune. While Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram will join Hyderabad in hosting the practice games.
Arch-rivals India and Pakistan will square off at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 on October 15 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Eight teams have qualified for the 46-day event through the Cricket World Cup Super League while the final two spots were decided by the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier taking place in Zimbabwe. Sri Lanka and the Netherlands grabbed the two final spots in the tournament.
The tournament retains the round-robin format of last time with all teams playing against each other for a total of 45 league matches. There are six day matches that will start at 10:30 Indian Standard Time (IST) while all other matches, including the knockouts, will be day-night fixtures starting at 14.00 IST. The top four teams will qualify for the semifinals, to be played in Mumbai on November 15 and in Kolkata on November 16. The final will be on November 19 in Ahmedabad. The semi-finals and the final will have reserve days.
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