The 2023 ODI World Cup schedule is yet to officially announced as the International Cricket Council (ICC) awaits confirmation from Pakistan regarding their participation in the tournament. The event is scheduled to be held in India in October-November later this year.
According to media reports, the final draft of the World Cup fixture has been sent to all participating nations following ICC protocols. However, Pakistan has requested a change in venues for their fixtures against Australia and Afghanistan.
Their worries primarily revolve around the security situation in India, as well as the quality of pitches in certain venues.
As per the current schedule, Pakistan is slated to play Australia at Bangaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium on October 20, and Afghanistan at Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on October 23.
While the PCB has not disclosed the specific reason behind the request, media reports suggest that Pakistan wants to minimize the threat of spin bowling as pitches, particulary in Chennai, supports spinners. And according to the draft schedule, Pakistan will clash against Afghanistan, who possessed world class spinners, in Chennai. Nevertheless, the request is still awaiting an official response from the ICC, and the World Cup schedule has not been made public yet.
In light of Pakistan’s request, veteran Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin shared his opinion on his YouTube channel. Ashwin expressed his belief that the ICC is unlikely to entertain the request due to the nature of the reason provided. He mentioned that a venue swap could have been considered if Pakistan had cited security concerns, as was done during the 2016 T20 World Cup when the India-Pakistan match scheduled in Dharamsala was moved to Kolkata.
“Pakistan, in their request letter itself, have mentioned that conditions will favour Afghanistan in Chennai. So, by changing venues, it plays into Pakistan’s advantage. So, I highly doubt that the ICC will heed this request. Maybe if Pakistan had given some valid security reasons, then it might be shifted. Another important thing. Pakistan’s interesting request to switch venues. The fixtures now are Pakistan playing Australia in Bangalore and Afghanistan in Chennai. They want the venues interchanged,” Ashwin said.
“Only for security reasons, the ICC will consider these requests. In the 2016 T20 World Cup, India vs Pakistan was slated to happen in Dharamsala, but for security reasons, it got shifted to Kolkata,” the veteran Indian cricketer concluded.
