The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 is, currently, underway but there have been a lot of talks going around the ODI World Cup 2023. As per the recent reports, Pakistan will be playing the bulk of their matches in the perennial tournament at Kolkata and Chennai as they, reportedly ‘feel safe’ playing here.
During their earlier tours, Pakistan felt comfortable the most while playing at these two grounds and, thus, BCCI and ICC are contemplating staging Pakistan matches at these two grounds.
The World Cup 2023 is likely to start on 5th October and will stage 46 matches, to be played across 12 cities in India, namely Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Mumbai, Rajkot, Bengaluru, Delhi, Indore, Guwahati and Hyderabad.
“A lot will depend on what BCCI and the Indian government decide but given a choice, Pakistan will like to play most of its World Cup matches in Kolkata and Chennai.
“In Kolkata, Pakistan played its T20 World Cup game against India in 2016 and the players were very happy with the security. Similarly, Chennai as a venue remains memorable for Pakistan. It’s also about feeling safe at specific venues,” a source close to ICC Board, told Inside Sport.
ICC to announce the World Cup 2023 schedule in due course
The final schedule will be revealed by the International Cricket Council in the next few months.
Earlier, ICC General Manager, Wasim Khan, has informed Pakistan Media that Pakistan could play their matches in Bangladesh as part of a ‘Hybrid Model’. His remark came on the back of India’s reluctance to play their matches in Pakistan for the upcoming Asia Cup.
However, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, Najam Sethi slammed the idea of playing the matches in Bangladesh instead of India and also stated that Pakistan had sent no such proposal of following a Hybrid model for global tournaments.
It has also been understood that Mohali has been one of the favourite grounds for Pakistan to play their games in India as it is logistically convenient for the fans across the border to travel through Wagah Border. However, unfortunately, Mohali isn’t is the list of venues zeroed in by BCCI for conducting the tournament.
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