The highly anticipated ICC ODI World Cup 2023 is just five months away, and cricket enthusiasts in India are very much excited to witness the grand event unfold. It will be after a long gap of 12 years that the prestigious tournament will come back to India. Notably, the last time the 50-over world cup took place in India was in 2011, when the Men in Blue created history and became the first host team to lift the trophy.
It is also worth mentioning that the 2011 World Cup was highly successful in terms of organization as well. Therefore, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) bears a tremendous responsibility to uphold and maintain the legacy.
However, due to the ongoing conflicts between the BCCI and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), there are doubts surrounding the participation of the Pakistani cricket team in the competition, which is a concerning issue for both the Indian board and cricket fans. But despite these tensions, the BCCI seems more focused on successfully hosting the event as they have started preparing and have come up with 15 potential venues for hosting matches during the World Cup that is scheduled to be held from October 5 to November 19.
According to reports from ESPNcricinfo, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah has stated that the schedule for the prestigious ODI tournament will be announced during the World Test Championship final between India and Australia, taking place at The Oval in London. The tournament will span 46 days, featuring a total of 48 matches, and the hosting rights for these matches could be distributed among the cities of Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Dharamsala, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Kolkata, Lucknow, Nagpur, Pune, Rajkot, Mumbai, and Trivandrum, as shortlisted by the board.
With the World Cup drawing near, the BCCI is soon expected to provide the schedule to the International Cricket Council (ICC).