The Cricket World Cup will begin on October 5 with England taking on New Zealand in Ahmedabad, and the same location will host the final on November 19, the organizers said on Tuesday. The schedule for the competition in India also confirmed that Pakistan would be taking part in the event.
Less than four months before the start of the 50-overs competition, the fixtures were disclosed by the International Cricket Council at an event in Mumbai. The delay was partially owing to the tense political ties between India and Pakistan. The tournament will begin in less than four months.
India’s decision not to participate in the Asia Cup in Pakistan during the months of August and September was the spark that ignited the most recent conflict between the two antagonistic neighbors, who only compete against each other in tournaments including many teams.
In response, Pakistan said that they would not participate in the World Cup if they were not granted permission to play at least some of the Asia Cup matches on their own territory.
The impasse was broken last month when Pakistan agreed to divide matches with Sri Lanka, which is where India would play their Asia Cup matches. last allowed for a resolution to the conflict.
On October 15, the most anticipated encounter of the tournament will take place at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium, which is the largest cricket arena in the world in terms of capacity. The match will feature South Asia’s bitter rivals.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), however, added a stipulation to the statement, stating that they would still need government authorization for any travel to India, including the locations for the World Cup matches.
In Chennai on October 8, India will start their campaign against Australia, who has won the tournament a total of five times.
The first match between England and New Zealand will be a replay of the 2019 final, which England won because to a regulation that is no longer in use (the boundary count rule).
Other important matches include Pakistan’s match against Australia in Bengaluru on October 20 and England’s match against South Africa in Mumbai the following day. Pakistan won the World Cup in 1992.
On November 15, the first semifinal will take place in Mumbai, and the next day, on November 16, Kolkata will play home to the second semifinal. The day-night format will be used for both of the games as well as the championship match.
The tournament that will include 10 teams will take place in a total of 10 different cities. These cities are Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Dharamsala, Delhi, Chennai, Lucknow, Pune, Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Kolkata.
The teams that have qualified are as follows: Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, New Zealand, Pakistan, and South Africa. India is the host nation for this competition.
Following the conclusion of a qualifying event that will take place in Zimbabwe on July 9th, two other teams will join them.