ICC World Cup 2023: India-Pak Match Date Changed
ICC ODI World Cup 2023 schedule altered for festivals and logistics, including India-Pakistan match date change.
The schedule for the ICC ODI Men’s World Cup 2023, hosted by India, which is to start on 5th October was already announced on 27th June 2023. BCCI secretary Jay Shah had said that 2 -3 nations had raised objections to the as some teams had 6 days gap between their matches. He had added that only the date would be changed and not the venue. With just about a month to go, the schedule has seen several changes. The highly anticipated India - Pakistan match was scheduled on 15th October 2023. However, it has been announced that the match would be held on 14th October 2023. India vs Pakistan clash has been moved due to the Hindu festival of Navratri which clashed with the original date. Navaratri is the largest festival of the state. Ahmedabad police had raised concerns about security arrangements for the biggest clash of the tournament. People had started booking hotels etc for the day even before the tickets for the match went on sale. However, it is being said that it is being held on 14th October so that it does not majorly disrupt the plans of ICC’s commercial partners, vendors, and cricket fans who may have pre-booked hotels and flights to Ahmedabad. The match between England and Pakistan was to be held on 12th November in Kolkata. That is the day West Bengal will be celebrating Kali Puja, the second biggest festival in the state after Durga Puja. Kolkata Police has cited concerns to provide security for the match slated on Diwali. The match has now been preponed to 11th November. Dates of 5 other matches needed to be changed due to several reasons. Meanwhile, the ticket booking website BookMyShow crashed just minutes after the tickets for India's World Cup matches went up for sale for the Mastercard holders on 29th August 2023. The BCCI has made it clear that they will continue to have physical ticketing as well. The board is unsure if systems are in place to run an e-ticketing exercise in high-capacity stadiums in India. To ensure fans don’t have to endure the ordeal of standing in long queues, the Indian board is planning to set up multiple ticket-collection points at venues. Sale of all tickets is expected to start next week.
