Team India are set to lock horns with Pakistan on October 15 as the schedule for the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 was announced by ICC in an event hosted in Mumbai on Tuesday, June 27. The marquee clash between the two arch-rivals, India and Pakistan will take place at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad in front of a jam-packed crowd of more than 1 lakh spectators.
Now that Pakistan’s participation has been confirmed in both the Asia Cup 2023 and the ODI World Cup 2023, fans can rejoice because if all goes right, there could be as many as five India vs Pakistan matches this year.
Yes, you read that right, including both the group stage games of the Asia Cup 2023 and the ODI World Cup 2023 matches, there could be three more times, that the two neighbouring countries come face to face.
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Here’s how India and Pakistan can faceoff 5 times in the year 2023:
Now that India and Pakistan don’t play each other in bilateral series due to the tense relations between the two nations, their meetings in ICC tournaments are always high-octane games. It will be no different this year as fans could get to witness as many as five IND-PAK matches in 2023.
The first meeting between India and Pakistan this year will be in the group stage of the Asia Cup 2023. The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) have yet to announce the full schedule and the exact dates of the tournament, but the two arch-rivals have been paired in the same group, therefore Rohit Sharma’s men will lock horns with Babar Azam’s side once.
Then, if both teams advance to the Super 4 stage of the Asia Cup then according to the format, India and Pakistan will lock horns for the second time this year in the Super 4 stage. Furthermore, if both sides end up reaching the final of Asia Cup 2023, then it could be the third meeting between the two rival sides in the space of a month.
If indeed India and Pakistan reach the final of Asia Cup 2023, then their meeting in the group stage of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 could be the fourth clash between the two neighbours. The match will be played on October 15.
Should India and Pakistan both teams reach the knockouts of the World Cup, then depending on where they finish in the group stage of the World Cup, the two rivals could meet either in the semifinals or if they both advance to the final of the ICC ODI World Cup, then it could be the fifth meeting between Rohit and Babar’s sides.
ICC have announced that if India meet Pakistan in the semis, then the final four clash will be played at the Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata, and not in Wankhede Stadium due to security concerns raised by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
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Thus, if all the aforementioned conditions are fulfilled, then fans may get to see the historic rivalry between India and Pakistan unfold as many as five times in 2023.
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