With a month and a half to go before the 50-over World Cup gets underway in India, one more cricket association has requested for another tweak in the schedule. The Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) has come forward and has written to the BCCI, expressing their inability to host back-to-back- matches, one of which includes Pakistan's.
The Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad will stage the Netherlands-New Zealand fixture on October 9th and will host the Pakistan-Sri Lanka contest the very next day. The latter match was initially scheduled for the 12th; however, the revised itinerary meant that Pakistan got enough time after their clash against India was brought forward by a day.
However, the first match the venue will host is of Pakistan and the Netherlands on the 6th. According to media reports, the Hyderabad police officials have raised concerns over providing security for consecutive matches, mainly the Pakistan fixture. The BCCI reportedly did not consult the HCA officials regarding the change of dates.
Nearly 3000 police personnel will be present for one game and a large number of officials will be stationed at the hotel where the Pakistan team will stay. With the tickets set to go on sale on August 25th, it is unclear whether the BCCI will tweak the dates again.
Ahmedabad and Kolkata had already requested a tweak:
With up to nine games being delayed, the original calendar for the 2023 World Cup has already undergone a significant modification. The eagerly anticipated India-Pakistan matchup was originally scheduled for October 15 at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium, the first day of the Navratri holiday, which is widely observed in Gujarat.
The game had to be moved up by a day because of the conflicting dates. Additionally, the Pakistan-England game had previously been planned to take place in Kolkata on November 12—the same day as Kali Puja, a significant Bengali festival. This match is currently scheduled for November 11.
The tournament starts on October 5th at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
