The ICC 50-over World Cup match between India and Pakistan, the first between the two bitter rivals on Indian soil since 2016, has been scheduled for October or November, and the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad has emerged as the front-runner to host the event.
According to information obtained, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to hold the high-stakes match at the Ahmedabad stadium in anticipation of the significant number of fans who are anticipated to fly to India from abroad for the match. The Narendra Modi Stadium is the biggest in the nation, with 1 lakh seats.
After the current season of the Indian Premier League is over, the BCCI will make the World Cup schedule official at a grand launch.
If everything goes according to plan, the 50-over World Cup will begin on October 5 and the venues have been narrowed down to Nagpur, Bengaluru, Trivandrum, Mumbai, Delhi, Lucknow, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Rajkot, Indore, Bengaluru, and Dharamshala, even for exhibition matches.
Of these venues, however, only seven will host India’s league matches. Ahmedabad could be the only venue where India play two matches, provided the team makes it to the final.
Due to security concerns, Pakistan may end up playing the majority of their games in Bengaluru and Chennai. Eden Gardens in Kolkata is another potential location. The majority of Bangladesh’s games could also be held in Kolkata and Guwahati to make travel easier for supporters from the neighbouring nation.
With October-November being the monsoon season, the BCCI is planning to wrap up the matches in the country’s southern parts before the first week of November.
The BCCI also consulted with the Indian team management and sought its preferences for the matches, apart from the one with Pakistan.
According to sources, the Indian team requested that matches against Australia, England, New Zealand, and South Africa be scheduled at locations that support spinners. It informed the board that it prefers slow pitches because, as has been the case for the past few years, it wants to maximise the alleged home advantage.
“The Indian team has performed well on slow tracks in the past few years at home. So the team management had requested that whenever the schedule is being prepared the Indian team should face top teams on slow pitches. They wanted to have a home advantage,” a source in the BCCI said.
Sources said the state units have already given their wish list to the BCCI, but a call on allotment of the matches to venues would be taken only by the BCCI. But they added there’s a strong chance of Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium hosting India’s match against Australia, while games against New Zealand, England, South Africa will be played in other centers where pitches will be slow.
Before the 50-over World Cup, the BCCI has set aside more than Rs 500 crore to upgrade stadiums all across the nation. Following recent criticism regarding the state of stadiums, BCCI secretary Jay Shah had earlier stated that the board would upgrade its infrastructure, with clean restrooms, easy access, and clean seats being the top priorities.
“All existing infrastructure in the country will be upgraded before the World Cup. Assessment of the stadium has been done to engage with a wider cohort of fans in the IPL and during the World Cup. So upgrading infrastructure will be done during this period,” Shah said.