The Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) will begin the renovation and upgradation work at Pune’s MCA Stadium after the ongoing Maharashtra Premier League (MPL 2023) concludes, as the venue has been granted five matches in the upcoming ICC World Cup 2023 tournament.
This will be the first time since the 1996 World Cup, that a stadium in Pune will host World Cup matches. The last match to be played in the city in a World Cup was between Kenya and West Indies, in which the African nation stunned the two-time World Champions at the Nehru Stadium.
Come October-November, the Maharashtra Cricket Association International Stadium on the outskirts of Pune will host five World Cup games, including India’s league game versus Bangladesh on October 19.
Our Stadium Is One Of The Most Modern Stadiums In India: Rohit Pawar, MCA President
Pune, the headquarters of the Maharashtra Cricket Association, was added late to the list of ten locations that will hold the actual event from October 5 to November 19 after initially being left off of the shortlist of venues.
“At the 2019 World Cup, we had MCA’s Kedar Jadhav playing on the biggest stage and would love to see more Maharashtra players in action on their home ground during the World Cup and we also hope that a few of our U-19 players will represent the country soon,” Rohit Pawar, the MCA president, said in Pune while addressing the media.
Nearly three-fourths of the 40,000 seats are uncovered despite being a scenic location near the Mumbai-Pune Motorway that originally hosted an international in 2012.
Even while Pawar did not address covering the stands, he emphasized that small improvement work will begin right after the Maharashtra Premier League championship on Thursday.
“The basic upgradation and maintenance will be complete by September end. Our stadium is one of the most modern stadiums in India. We just have to upgrade minor issues like parking space and ticketing counters. But I can assure that by September end, all these things will be upgraded by September end,” he said.
Pune will host India’s league match against Bangladesh on October 19.