The 13th ICC Men’s ODI Cricket World Cup, which will take place in October and November 2023, will be held in India. And if India qualifies for the semi-final match, they will play in Mumbai, unless they clash with arch-rival in Pakistan in the knockout stage.
The International Cricket Council unveiled the full itinerary of the prestigious competition on Tuesday in Mumbai.
The two semi-final matches of the international competition are reportedly scheduled to take place at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai and Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Due to the probability of rain, Bengaluru and Chennai were not taken into consideration for the knockout matches.
However, some reports have suggested that due to security worries, Pakistan voiced reluctance to play their World Cup match in Mumbai. Officials of the ICC have apparently been alerted about the information by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). But the choice of final venues will be made by the ICC.
India-Pakistan semi-final clash likely to be moved out of Mumbai and played in Kolkata in case both teams clash with one another
On the other hand, if India qualifies for the semi-final of the tournament, they will play the knockout game in Mumbai, home of India captain Rohit Sharma. But this also means, that in case, India and Pakistan both qualify for the semi-finals against each other, the match is most likely to be shifted out of Mumbai and probably play in Kolkata.
Meanwhile, the ICC has refused Pakistan’s request for a venue swap for matches against Afghanistan and Australia. They didn’t want to face Afghanistan in Chennai, as the opposition had a quality spin-bowling attack. They wanted to play against Australia in Chennai and Afghanistan in Bangalore.
However, the ICC reportedly decided not to change the venues of Pakistan’s matches.
The MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai will serve as the site of the majority of Pakistan’s contests. Additionally, they will play matches in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad. It is important to remember that Pakistan lost its 2011 ODI World Cup semifinal match against India.
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