The Men’s 50-over World Cup will kick-off on October 5 with the opening match between England and New Zealand in Ahmedabad. The final of the tournament will also take place at Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera on November 19, according to a report on Cricbuzz.
“The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is expected to come up with the official schedule soon, most likely after the on-going Indian Premier League (IPL), after obtaining the formal approval from all concerned. As the host, the BCCI will have the final say on the dates and venues,” the report said.
The report also confirmed that Pakistan has agreed to tour India for the World Cup, independent of the continued standoff and uncertainty over the Asia Cup, but it is believed to have expressed a few concerns.
“The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is understood to be having reservations over playing the big game against India in Ahmedabad and that could be one of the reasons, it is being assumed, why Najam Sethi, the chairman of the PCB, visited the ICC office in Dubai over the last couple of days,” the report said.
“As per the tentative schedule drawn so far, Pakistan will play its games in Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru. The BCCI has provided venues in the South Zone for the most Pakistan games with Chennai, which has a record of being a peaceful host with a very sporting crowd, getting a few extra games.”
The report also added that apart from Ahmedabad and the three south centres, Kolkata, Delhi, Indore, Dharamsala, Guwahati, Rajkot, Raipur and Mumbai are the designated venues with Mohali and Nagpur missing out from the list. The Wankhede in Mumbai is likely to get a semifinal. Each team will play nine league games which means most centres, if not all, will get an India game each.
The World Cup will have 10 teams playing 48 games. India, England, Australia, New Zealand, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh have qualified for the championship, with South Africa being the latest to get a direct entry.
The last two spots will be filled through a qualifying tournament in June-July in Zimbabwe in which two former champions, West Indies and Sri Lanka, will compete along with the Netherlands, Ireland, Nepal, Oman, Scotland, UAE and host Zimbabwe.
