The former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman has taken potshots at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) over reports suggesting that there can be another change in ODI World Cup 2023 schedule. The final schedule was announced by the BCCI and the International Cricket Council (ICC) with nine changes including the high-voltage clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan.
Sethi in his tweet had revealed that he had advised the BCCI to organise Pakistan's matches at a neutral venue. He blamed BCCI for messing up the scheduling.
Sethi tweeted: “@BCCI should have taken my advice re @TheRealPCB playing their WC games in a neutral country. They are now in a mess with schedule tweaks being proposed every few days!”
On August 20, a report surfaced that the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) has expressed concerns over hosting matches on consecutive days at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium.
The Hyderabad Police had expressed that they will struggle to provide security for back-to-back matches of New Zealand vs Netherlands and Pakistan vs Sri Lanka. They need to provide 3,000 personnel for a single match which may lead to them being unable to provide ample security for the Pakistan team.
However, the BCCI is unlikely to make another last-minute change to the schedule. In a few days' time, the World Cup ticket sales will start on August 25. The repeated change in fixtures has been a major convenience for fans who have already made arrangements for travel and accommodation.
It will be interesting to see how this will impact ticket sales and the experience of fans as they will struggle to book hotels which will become expensive day by day.
Meanwhile, India will face Pakistan at a neutral venue – Pallekele International Stadium – in Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup 2023. They are likely to face each other at least one more time in Asia Cup 2023.
