The highly-anticipated 2023 ODI World Cup is likely to start on October 5 and end on November 19, with as many as 12 cities in India hosting all matches. According to a report in ESPNcricinfo, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has shortlisted at least a dozen venues for the global showpiece event, with the final scheduled to take place at the world’s largest cricket arena – Narendra Modi Stadium – in Ahmedabad.
Apart from Ahmedabad, the other shortlisted cities are Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Dharamsala, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Indore, Rajkot and Mumbai. The 10-team competition will be played across 46 days with a total of 48 matches in the same format as the 2019 edition.
Notably, the BCCI has not yet specified venues for any games, along with the two or three cities where teams are supposed to play the warm-ups. The reason behind the delay in finalising the venues is because of the complications posed by the monsoon season, which recedes at different points in different parts of India.
Generally, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announces World Cup schedules at least a year in advance, but this time it has been waiting for the BCCI to get the necessary clearance from the Indian government. The clearances include two key issues, i.e. claiming a tax exemption for organising the tournament and visa clearance for the Pakistan team, which has not played in India except at ICC events since 2013.
For the unversed, the 2023 edition will be the fourth time that the tournament shall be taking place in India. However, it is the first occasion when an entire tournament will be hosted in India. In 1987, India co-hosted the global tournament with Pakistan. Similarly, Sri Lanka and Pakistan were hosts of the 1996 edition alongside India. In 2011, India shared the hosting rights with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
