At the meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) with staging state associations of the upcoming World Cup, no concrete decision was taken on rescheduling the India-Pakistan fixture originally slated for October 15 in Ahmedabad. In an interaction with the media, BCCI secretary Jay Shah confirmed changes in the World Cup schedule but didn’t give out any specifics.
“Two-three ICC Full Member nations have raised objections regarding the schedule. The teams which have a six-day gap will be reduced and the teams which have a two-day gap will be increased. The logistics team of both BCCI and ICC is working on it. No venue will be changed, only date and time will be changed,” Shah said in New Delhi on July 27.
BCCI’s top boss didn’t reveal the name of the ICC Full Member nations who have raised objections but assured that the tweaks would be minor. News18 CricketNext reached out to multiple officials tracking developments from close quarters and learnt that England vs Afghanistan day-night fixture in Delhi on October 14 is likely to be rescheduled to make way for the high-profile India-Pakistan fixture in Ahmedabad. These will be only date and time changes and venues for the fixtures will continue to be the same.
India are likely to continue playing all their games on single match days and to maintain the arrangement, the morning game of October 14 between New Zealand and Bangladesh in Chennai could well be pushed by a day to October 15. This tweak will address the India-Pakistan fixture situation and also avoid the impossible task of hosting three games in a single day.
“The D/N game in Delhi on October 14 between England and Afghanistan is all likely to move to Sunday, possibly to a day game, because India-Pakistan has to be moved to Saturday D/N. The morning game on Saturday will also need to move to Sunday because the broadcaster too would want to maximise from the India-Pakistan fixture and have it as the only fixture on the day, just like all India matches,” a source close to developments told CricketNext.
How the tweaked weekend could affect teams:
The teams originally scheduled to play on October 14 and October 15 are India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Bangladesh, England, and Afghanistan. Here’s how the possible revised schedule will affect these teams and also Sri Lanka, who are originally scheduled to play Pakistan on October 12 in Hyderabad:
India: Before the likely October 14 game vs Pakistan, India play Afghanistan on October 11 in New Delhi in a day-night game. The revised schedule will still allow them enough gap between fixtures and also give an extra day before the next game against Bangladesh in Pune on October 19.
Pakistan: The game after the weekend will not be an issue for Pakistan as they are scheduled to take on Australia in Bengaluru on October 20. It’s the game before October 14 which could pose a hurdle for the logistics team of ICC and BCCI. Pakistan are slated to take on Sri Lanka in Hyderabad on October 12 and will not have much time to practice before taking on India in the high-voltage clash in Ahmedabad on October 14. There is, however, a bright possibility of the day-night clash between Pakistan and Sri Lanka getting rescheduled to a day fixture to give them time. Now whether PCB would agree to that arrangement is anybody’s guess.
New Zealand: The Kiwis wouldn’t mind the rejig as they continue to be in Chennai for their next game after the weekend. If their original game on October 14 vs Bangladesh in Chennai is moved to October 15, they will have a couple of days before the next fixture vs Afghanistan in Chennai on October 18. There is, however, a possibility of their likely October 15 game vs Bangladesh to become a day-night affair.
Bangladesh: Bangladesh will remain comfortably placed as they will have ample time both before and after the rescheduled weekend. Before their likely game vs New Zealand in Chennai, they are playing England in Dharamsala on October 10 and after the New Zealand game, they will lock horns with India in Pune on October 19.
England: Moving their game from Saturday to Sunday will reduce the gap between fixtures. The original schedule of England playing Bangladesh in Delhi on October 14 meant they would have got six days off before their next fixture against South Africa in Mumbai on October 21. The likely revision will reduce the gap by a day as England will then play on the 15th before meeting SA on the 21st. Before the October 14-15 weekend, England take on Bangladesh in Dharamsala on October 10.
Afghanistan: The game before October 14-15 weekend for Afghanistan is on October 11 vs India in Delhi. The likely rescheduled movement of their October 14 fixture vs England in Delhi to October 15 will still leave them a couple of days before taking on New Zealand in Chennai on October 18. There’s a bright possibility of rescheduling the England-Afghanistan game to be a day game because Afghanistan’s next game is in Chennai and it’s a long flight from Delhi.
New Zealand, the other team playing the likely rescheduled fixtures on October 15, wouldn’t mind the swap of their October 15 game vs Bangladesh from day to day-night as they will be stationed in Chennai for their next fixture vs Afghanistan on October 18.
Sri Lanka: There is no major change expected in Sri Lanka’s schedule and the only possibility is that their game vs Pakistan on October 12 is likely to become a day game.
The BCCI is likely to announce the revised schedule soon in the next few days and it remains to be seen how they will overcome these obstacles.
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