BCCI hits back on Sashi Tharoor's "big mistake..." remark over Venues complaint

• Image Credit: Prag News

• Jun 28, 2023 | Poonam Nath

Shashi Tharoor remarked that Thiruvananthapuram, Mohali, and Ranchi should have been allowed to host the WC 2023...

Digital Desk: Thiruvananthapuram was denied the opportunity to host the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup in 2023, as stated by a source with The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), since there can only be 10 venues for the competition, and they cannot just concentrate on the south region because Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Chennai are being chosen as the venues.

 "There are matches in the south like Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Chennai - total have to be 10 venues so can't concentrate everything in south," a BCCI insider said.

The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad will host both the tournament's opening game and the championship match of the largest Cricket World Cup history, which will include ten teams and be contested at ten different locations from October 5 to November 19. 48 matches total will be contested during the 46-day campaign.

Shashi Tharoor, a member of parliament from Thiruvananthapuram, stated on Tuesday that Thiruvananthapuram, Mohali, and Ranchi should have been given the chance to host a World Cup match. He added that BCCI made a "Big Mistake" in decision-making.

"The tournament is long. They could have done a little more to share their happiness. It ought to have been possible for Thiruvananthapuram, Mohali, and Ranchi to host a World Cup match. There is no requirement that each venue host 4-5 matches. The BCCI made a serious error here, Tharoor added.

In response to Tharoor's statement, a BCCI insider said that if Tharoor was determined to have matches in Kerala, he should work to transfer control of the stadium from IL&FS to the state association.

The insider continued, "In other nations, there are only a total of 6-7 venues, but ICC gave us more because we are a vast country, and we can't please everyone.

The ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 will be off on October 5 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad with a match between the defending champions, England and the runners-up New Zealand.

On October 8 in Chennai, India will play its first World Cup match against Australia.

Apart from Ahmedabad and Chennai, the other cities selected for match venues are Bengaluru, Delhi, Dharamsala, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, and Pune. The practice games will be held in Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram, in addition to Hyderabad.

India and Pakistan will face off in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 on October 15 at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium.

The Cricket World Cup Super League has qualified eight teams for the 46-day event, with the final two spaces going to the winners of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe.

The competition will follow the same round-robin structure as last year, with all teams playing 45 league matches against each other. Six-day matchups begin at 10:30 IST, while all other matches, including the knockouts, begin at 14:00 IST.

The top four teams will advance to the semifinals, which will be played in Mumbai on November 15 and Kolkata on November 16. The semi-finals and final will both have reserve days.