ODI World Cup 2023: Thiruvananthapuram & Mohali Left Out, Shashi Tharoor, Punjab Minister Blame BCCI

Punjab Sports Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer and Kerala MP Shashi Tharoor criticized the International Cricket Council (ICC) and BCCI on Tuesday for not allocating matches to Punjab and Kerala for the upcoming ODI World Cup 2023 matches.

The cricket tournament is set to commence on October 5, featuring a clash between defending champions England and runners-up New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, according to schedule announced.

Senior Congress leader and MP from Kerala, Shashi Tharoor, said he was “disappointed” to see that Thiruvananthapuram’s Sports Hub, hailed by many as the best cricket stadium in India, was “missing from the World Cup 2023 fixture list.” “Ahmedabad is becoming the new cricket capital of the country, but could a match or two not have been allotted to Kerala?” the Thiruvananthapuram MP said in a tweet.

Punjab Sports Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer said the exclusion of Mohali from the list of cities to host world cup matches was due to political interference. “The exclusion of Punjab’s Mohali from the list of host cities for the tournament was due to political interference. Punjab government will raise this issue with BCCI,” Hayer said in a video.

According to the recently announced schedule, the two semifinals of the mega event will be held at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium and Kolkata’s Eden Gardens on November 15 and 16, respectively. Both venues hold a significant legacy in the world of cricket.

To mark the 100-day countdown to the ODI showpiece, the ICC revealed that India, being the host, will kickstart the campaign with an exciting match against Australia on October 8 in Chennai.

For the first time in World Cup history, the tournament will include Guwahati as one of the twelve venues to host matches, including warm-up games. This marks the entry of northeast India into the World Cup fold.

In total, there will be ten venues hosting matches in the tournament: Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Dharamsala, Delhi, Chennai, Lucknow, Pune, Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Kolkata. Additionally, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram, and Hyderabad will host the warm-up games scheduled from September 29 to October 3.

The grand finale will be held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on November 19. The stadium holds the distinction of being the largest in the world, with a seating capacity of 132,000 spectators, surpassing the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) by an additional 32,000 seats.

(With inputs from PTI)