The much-awaited ICC ODI World Cup is likely to experience yet another modification after the Hyderabad Cricket Association requested BCCI to reconsider the warm-up game between Pakistan and New Zealand on September 29. Earlier, a few games, including the India-Pakistan match, were postponed since it fell on the first day of Navratri, a major holiday that was widely observed throughout Gujarat.
According to reports in Indian Express, the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) has formally informed the Board For Cricket Control in India (BCCI) regarding the difficulty of hosting the warm-up game between two heavyweights Pakistan and New Zealand due to the festivals of Ganesh Visarjan and Milad-Un-Nabi, on September 28th.
It is known that the Hyderabad Cricket Association requested again, and that email was sent to BCCI executives regarding the schedule of the event in the state. The HCA filed its complaint when the BCCI-ICC began selling tickets for World Cup events, including for the pre-tournament games.
A huge number of police officers will be stationed at the hotel where the Pakistani team will be staying, and approximately 3,000 police officers will be deployed for one game during the ODI World Cup game.
Earlier, it was said that the Hyderabad police had raised their concern regarding the security gap between the two games on two days in the city. The Rajiv International Stadium is scheduled to host the game between New Zealand and the Netherlands on October 9, followed by the match between two Asian giants Pakistan and Sri Lanka on the next day.
The Hyderabad Cricket Association and security officials are concerned about the high-profile game as thousands of fans from around the world are scheduled to flock to Hyderabad to see the highly awaited game in the nation.
The eagerly awaited ICC ODI World Cup 2023 will get underway at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium on October 5. Defending champions England taking on New Zealand in the tournament opener in the World’s largest stadium.
For the first time, India will host the competition by itself, and the Rohit Sharma-led team will try to end their 10-year title drought in ICC competitions on home soil.
Despite performing well in the league stage of the competition, India has never won the championship in an ICC event in the last 10 years failing to win the knockout games of the high-octane tournaments.