Nagpur: Cricket fans from the Second Capital of the State were left sorrowful as the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) released the highly anticipated schedule for the upcoming 2023 men’s ODI World Cup. In an announcement made in Mumbai, it was revealed that Nagpur would not host any matches during the prestigious tournament.
The 45 league matches and three knockouts of the World Cup will be distributed across ten venues in India, spanning a total of 46 days. However, Nagpur did not make it onto the list of host cities. The matches will take place in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Dharamsala, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, and Pune.
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Saturday 23 Nov. 2024
It is worth mentioning that Nagpur is no stranger to being deprived of opportunities.
The World Cup is set to kick off on October 5 in Ahmedabad, where the opening match will be a highly anticipated rematch between the finalists of the 2019 World Cup, New Zealand and England. The tournament will conclude with the final, also in Ahmedabad, on November 19.
Mumbai and Kolkata have been chosen as the venues for the semi-finals, scheduled to be held on November 15 and 16, respectively. If the Indian cricket team qualifies for the semi-finals, their knockout match will take place in Mumbai. However, if their opponent happens to be Pakistan, the game will be moved to Kolkata.
The release of the World Cup schedule comes as a relief to cricket enthusiasts who had eagerly awaited its announcement. Unlike previous editions of the tournament, the fixtures for the 2023 World Cup were disclosed just 100 days prior to its commencement, compared to more than a year in advance for the 2019 and 2015 World Cups.
Following the format of the 2019 World Cup, ten teams will participate in the league phase, playing each other once. The top four teams from the league stage will qualify for the semi-finals. India secured their place in the event as the host nation, while Afghanistan, Australia, England, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Pakistan, and South Africa earned their spots by finishing in the top eight of the 2020-2023 World Cup Super League. The remaining two teams will be determined through the ongoing World Cup qualifiers in Zimbabwe.
Although Nagpur missed out on hosting any World Cup matches, cricket lovers in the other ten venues can look forward to witnessing the exciting battles that will unfold over the course of the tournament. With the cricketing world’s attention focused on India, anticipation is building for the clash between cricket’s top teams as they vie for the ultimate glory in the 2023 men’s ODI World Cup.
Before the official commencement of the tournament, the teams will engage in warm-up matches taking place in Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, and Guwahati between September 29 and October 3.
Cricket fans worldwide eagerly await the action-packed World Cup, which promises to be a thrilling spectacle of skill, sportsmanship, and intense competition.
