Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Najam Sethi last week announced that he is not sure of their participation in ODI World Cup 2023 which will be hosted in India. Sethi said that they will only play on Indian soil if their government allows them to. In addition, he also admitted that they would like a change in venue including the India vs Pakistan encounter at Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium, Ahmebabad. Few days later, it has been revealed that Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and International Cricket Council (ICC) have denied PCB's request for a change in venues.
As per a report by Cricbuzz, a meeting was held on June 20 where PCB was officially informed about the decision. However, the request was related to Pakistan's matches in Chennai and Bengaluru against Afghanistan and Australia respectively. The PCB wanted to switch the two venues after BCCI and ICC shared the draft schedule for the quadrennial event.
As per the rules, ICC cannot ask BCCI to change a particular venue until and unless there are security issues or it is not fit to play international cricket. In addition, BCCI did not entertain PCB’s demand to change the venue for India clash.
However, this is not the first time there has been a venue change in a World Cup event. In T20 World Cup 2016, the India vs Pakistan encounter was shifted from Dharamsala to Kolkata due to security issues.
Meanwhile, the BCCI and ICC are yet to release the full schedule for ODI World Cup 2023 on May 10. It is expected to kick off with defending champions England taking on New Zealand in Ahmedabad on October 5. Later, in group stages, India will go up against Pakistan on October 15 at the same venue as well. The final of the event is likely to be played on November 19.
The last time Pakistan played in Ahmedabad was in 2005 under the leadership of Inzamam-ul-Haq. The visitors won the high-scoring encounter. The Motera stadium was yet to be renovated and renamed as Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium.
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