The world is gearing up for the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup. This 13th edition of this tournament will take place from 5th October to 19th November. A total of 10 teams will be competing in this iconic event which has witnessed numerous changes to its schedule. Now, a new set of changes has come to the fore.
ICC has confirmed that nine fixtures from the tournament will now be played on a different date. This includes the iconic India-Pakistan match, which will take place in Ahmedabad. Irrespective of these changes, there continues to be tremendous interest in the bonus offers which are provided through the likes of the 4rabet promo code.
India vs Pakistan: who can win this World Cup?
The India-Pakistan game was scheduled to take place on October 15. Now, it will take place on October 14. As a result of the changes announced by the ICC, England, Bangladesh, and Pakistan will be the most affected. Three of the Pakistan games have been shifted while England and Bangladesh have seen two of their games shifted. The shift in the India-Pakistan game has also forced ICC to report on the Sri Lanka-Pakistan game on October 12. This fixture has been moved to October 10 so that there is sufficient recovery time for the Pakistani team.
It has been rumoured that one of the primary reasons behind the shift of the India-Pakistan game is due to security concerns. As per the original dates, the match would have coincided with the start of the Navaratri festival, which is a major Hindu festival in the country. The BCCI secretary, Jay Shah, has swiftly denied the rumours. Instead, Shah claims that the logistical challenges were the key factor in changing the dates.
The venue of these events has not been changed and they will continue to take place at the same location.
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World Cup Schedule for 2023
The ICC 2023 ODI World Cup schedule was released only on June 27. This is substantially late compared to the schedule released for the previous two editions in 2015 (Australia and New Zealand) and 2019 (England and Wales). The schedule of both these events was released 12 months before the start of the tournament.
Even then, it is very unlikely that ICC will face any troubles with regard to selling tickets. The tickets will be available from August 25 – just 40+ days prior to the start of the event.
The tickets involving the hosts, India, will be available first. Fans will be able to get tickets for the warmup matches and the actual tournament. The tickets will not be available in one go. The first two days have been set aside only for warmup matches, while one can pick up tickets for the semifinals and final on September 15.
Once again, this is a significant deviation from the recent editions. The tickets for the 2019 World Cup were on sale from September 2018.
The Host of WC 2023
This will be the first time India is hosting the tournament on its own. India have been able to host the World Cup in 1987, 1996, and 2011. On all occasions, neighbouring countries like Pakistan and Sri Lanka joined forces with the Indian subcontinent. The 2023 World Cup also marks the first time that the World Cup features less than 12 teams since the format expanded to double figures in 1996.
England are the defending champions coming into the tournament and they take on New Zealand on October 5 in Ahmedabad. The final is also scheduled in Ahmedabad on November 18. Kolkata and Mumbai will be hosting the two semifinals.
